 "Navarro calls Brics nations ‘vampires’: What is America’s problem with the bloc?")
Peter Navarro, Donald Trump’s senior trade adviser, is ramping up his rhetoric against India. And he isn’t stopping at just New Delhi; in his latest jibe, Navarro has gone after the member countries of Brics, calling them “vampires”.
This isn’t the first time that the grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (Brics) have been targeted by the Trump administration. Earlier, the US president himself took aim at the grouping, threatening to impose additional tariffs on the member nations for aligning themselves with “the Anti-American policies of BRICS”.
But why does Trump and now Navarro hate on Brics? What’s going on?
Navarro likens Brics to vampires
In an interview, Navarro, who has now become infamous for his anti-India remarks, called the Brics nations vampires, adding that they wouldn’t survive if they do not sell to the United States. He also cast doubts on how long the bloc would remain united and claimed that the member nations have historically hated each other.
“The bottom line is that none of these countries (Brics) can survive if they don’t sell to the US… And when they sell to the United States their exports, they’re like vampires sucking our blood dry with their unfair trade practices,” he said, adding, “Let’s see what happens. But I don’t see how the Brics stays together since historically they all hate each other and kill each other.
I don’t see the BRICS alliance lasting.
— Peter Navarro (@RealPNavarro) September 8, 2025
They’ve long hated each other—and none survive without selling to the United States. pic.twitter.com/0vqNq8fZaE
”
In the interview, he also jibed at India-China ties and claimed that the countries have been ‘at war for decades’. “India, of course, is at war with China for decades… It was China that gave Pakistan a nuclear bomb. You got ships flying around the Indian Ocean now with Chinese flags. Modi, see how you kind of worked that out,” he added.
Notably, these remarks came after Brazil hosted the Brics virtual summit on Monday. During that meet, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that India’s message was that Brics should work together and called for promoting fair economic practices, noting that the world requires constructive and cooperative approaches to promote trade that is sustainable and that increasing barriers and complicating transactions will not help.
Navarro has been very critical of India and its tariff regime, adding it won’t end well for India if it aligns with Russia and China. Earlier, he also claimed that India buys Russian oil purely to “feed Russia’s war machine”.
“Everybody in America loses because of what India is doing. The consumers and businesses and everything lose, and workers lose because India’s high tariffs cost us jobs, and factories, and income and higher wages. And then the taxpayers lose because we got to fund Modi’s war,” he added.
Navarro echoes Trump’s Brics tirade
Navarro isn’t alone in his tirade against Brics. Earlier, in July, US President Donald Trump threatened members of the Brics with additional tariffs, writing on Truth Social, “Any country aligning themselves with the anti-American policies of Brics” will face those duties with “no exceptions”.
Later, Trump suggested he wants to break up the group. “If they’re a member of Brics, they are going to have to pay a 10 per cent tariff, just for that one thing — and they won’t be a member long.”
These salvos against Brics are part of Trump’s long-standing tirade against the grouping. Earlier, in January, the US president wrote on his social media account, “There is no chance that Brics will replace the US dollar in international trade, or anywhere else, and any country that tries should say hello to tariffs, and goodbye to America!”
His post is nearly identical to the one he made on November 30, weeks after winning the 2024 presidential election.
Why Brics is in the crosshairs though
But what’s the reason for Trump and Navarro’s remarks on the Brics collective? There are multiple reasons why Trump is unhappy with the collective that has only been growing in strength since it was founded in 2009.
Analysts note that the growing influence of this grouping could be the reason behind Trump’s animosity towards it. From its four members — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — in 2009, it has now expanded to 10 members — Egypt, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates, and Iran joined in 2024, and Indonesia in 2025.
The bloc contributes to 35 per cent of the world’s GDP and accounts for 45 per cent of the global population. Moreover, many look at the bloc as an alternative to the G7, a group of seven wealthy nations. More and more emerging economies want to be associated with Brics with the hope of a new multipolar world order no longer dominated by the West. Brics is seen as the voice of the Global South, something that India has been emphasising.
Another reason for Trump’s tirade against Brics is his belief that the group wants to topple the US dollar’s hegemony in international trade. In a Cabinet meeting, he earlier said, “Brics was set up to hurt us. Brics was set up to degenerate our dollar, and take our dollar, take it off as the standard.”
In the recent past, the Brics has intensified efforts to reduce reliance on the dollar by promoting trade in local currencies among members. This has especially gathered momentum after the US threw Russia and Iran out of SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication), which is crucial for international financial transactions.
The bloc has been promoting trade in local currencies, which many see as an attempt at de-dollarisation. Russia and China have paid for energy deals in roubles and yuan. India has paid for Russian oil since 2023 in yuan, roubles and the UAE’s dirham.
In fact, at the 15th BRICS Summit in 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin explicitly called for de-dollarisation, stating that Brics nations “must expand settlements in national currencies and enhance cooperation between banks”.
As Alicia Garcia-Herrero, a senior fellow at the Brussels-based think tank Bruegel told DW, “The Brics is very clearly anti-Western. Part of its mantra is to change the global order.”
And the recent unity displayed by the leaders of Russia, China and India at the recently-concluded Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in China’s Tianjin could also be a worry for Trump. Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Russian President Vladimir Putin held their first trilateral talks in six years, marking a diplomatic breakthrough after years of tensions between India and China.
Besides the currency issue, Brics and Trump have also had differences over Iran. At their July meeting, the leaders of the bloc rebuked the US and Israel’s attacks on Iran. In the declaration, member states described the June strikes as a “violation of international law”, expressing “grave concern” about the deteriorating security situation in West Asia.
The group also expressed “grave concern” for the Palestinian people over Israeli attacks on Gaza and condemned the Pahalgam attack.
We will have to wait and watch to see what comes next in this Trump vs Brics saga. However, if the past is any indicator, then the grouping isn’t going anywhere soon. In fact, as Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said, “The world has changed. We don’t want an emperor.”
With inputs from agencies
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