Brics foreign ministers met in New York on Friday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly and issued a strong criticism of trade-restrictive measures — without naming any country — and Israel’s actions against Iran and Qatar.

Addressing the meeting, chaired by India in its capacity as the incoming Brics chair for 2026, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar stressed the need for the collective of top emerging economies to defend the multilateral trading system. He said the rising protectionism, tariff volatility and non-tariff barriers were impacting trade flows.

Jaishankar said: “In a turbulent world, Brics must reinforce the message of peacebuilding, dialogue, diplomacy and adherence to international law.”

According to the joint communiqué, the foreign ministers of the Brics countries expressed concern over the “proliferation of trade-restrictive actions, whether in the form of indiscriminate rising of tariffs and non-tariff measures, or protectionism, in particular measures used as a means of coercion that threaten to further reduce global trade, disrupt global supply chains, and introduce uncertainty into international economic and trade activities, potentially exacerbating existing economic disparities and affecting prospects for global economic development”.

The Brics nations said that unilateral tariff and non-tariff measures that distort trade and are inconsistent with WTO rules could fragment global trade and marginalise the Global South.

They rejected unilateral, punitive and discriminatory protectionist measures that are not in line with international law and are adopted on the pretext of environmental concerns, such as the “discriminatory” carbon border adjustment mechanisms (CBAMs), deforestation regulations, due diligence requirements, taxes and other measures.

They reconfirmed their full support for the call in COP28 relating to the avoidance of unilateral trade measures based on climate or environment.

Both India and China are opposed to the CBAMs, under which the European Union charges a tariff for embedded carbon emissions during the production of certain goods.

The Brics ministers condemned Israel’s armed attack on Qatar earlier this month and the military strikes against Iran in June, calling them a breach of international law.

They expressed concern about the attacks on Iran, saying Israel had deliberately targeted civilian infrastructure and peaceful nuclear facilities that were under full safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in violation of international law and relevant resolutions of the IAEA.