BRICS Union

The BRICS Union

Will Splonskowski

September 26, 2023

At some point in time, you have probably heard about the BRICS union. The BRICS union was initiated by Russia in 2009 and incorporated Brazil, Russia, India, and China. In 2010, they added South Africa, thus forming BRICS. BRICS currently represents around 40% of the world’s population and is more than a quarter of the world’s GDP. This union strives to increase trade in their local currencies, inadvertently decreasing the value of the Dollar and increasing the value of currencies used by all BRICS countries. In this union, all members must agree on decisions, such as adding a new member.

The BRICS union met August 22–24, 2023, for its annual Leader’s Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa. At this meeting, for the first time since 2010, they decided to add new members. These members include Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates(UAE), Argentina, Egypt, and Ethiopia. On January 1, 2024, all of these countries will become members, forming an 11-nation block.

So why should we care? Many of these countries don’t like us, so their amassing together should automatically lead to concern. The level of aggression towards the US and the West varies between the members, but they all disapprove of Western countries imposing restrictions on foreign countries. If we continue to embargo our rivals (such as Russia), then we may see some pushback in the near future. Around 90% of all trade is done by sea. With China gaining more influence over the Panama Canal, Egypt owning the Suez Canal, and many of these countries bordering major trade routes, they could easily embargo us in retaliation. With Saudia Arabia, the UAE, and Iran being three of the world’s biggest oil producers and China producing a vast amount of the things we use on a daily basis, this could be a death blow to our economy and lead to another great depression, worse than the last. Around 40 countries have shown interest in BRICS, out of which more than 20 countries are already willing to join. If we do not either appease them or take action against the coalition, then we may face hard times ahead. 

Sources:

  1. https://apnews.com/article/brics-russia-china-summit-b5900168d165cc78b36d5d5c068b7a50

  2. https://www.cfr.org/councilofcouncils/global-memos/brics-summit-2023-seeking-alternate-world-order

  3. https://www.reuters.com/world/what-is-brics-who-are-its-members-2023-08-21/

  4. https://www.oecd.org/ocean/topics/ocean-shipping/

  5. https://watcher.guru/news/brics-full-list-of-countries-that-want-to-join-alliance

  6. Custom Map-https://www.mapchart.net/world.html

  7. Panama Canal-https://www.csis.org/analysis/key-decision-point-coming-panama-canal