Some of India’s biggest trade deficits are with BRICS members, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said, while addressing a virtual leaders’ summit of the grouping on Monday.
Jaishankar addressed the summit in place of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In his comments, the minister flagged concern over the increasing trade barriers.
“Trade patterns and market access are today prominent issues in the global economic discourse. The world requires constructive and cooperative approaches to promote trade that is sustainable,” Jaishankar said.
“Increasing barriers and complicating transactions will not help. Neither would the linking of trade measures to non-trade matters. The BRICS itself can set an example by reviewing trade flows among its member states. Where India is concerned, some of our biggest deficits are with BRICS partners and we have been pressing for expeditious solutions. We hope that this realisation will be part of the takeaways from today’s meeting,” he added.
Notably, India’s sharpest trade deficit is with China, standing at $99.21 billion in fiscal 2024-25, as per official data. The two countries are the leading economies of the BRICS bloc.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, who spoke at the BRICS summit before Jaishankar, took an apparent aim at the United States, saying that a “certain country” wants to hit the world economy with a “trade war”.
The Chinese premier also called upon increasing trade and deepening economic cooperation among the BRICS members, while “resisting all forms of protectionism” and defending multilateralism.
