# BRICS meets under Trump's tariff shadow

> Xi, Putin and Modi gather in New Delhi while US tariffs and sanctions push everyone to spread their bets.
- Title: BRICS meets under Trump's tariff shadow · CNBC | Shortify
- Summary: Xi, Putin and Modi gather in New Delhi while US tariffs and sanctions push everyone to spread their bets. Trump's pressure did not create BRICS, but it is…
- Keywords: brics, geopolitics, trade, tariffs, de-dollarization, business, finance, meets, under, Trump's, tariff, shadow
- Source: CNBC — https://cnbc.com/2026/09/12/brics-summit-xi-putin-modi-trump.html
- Author: Spriha Srivastava
- Published: 2026-09-12T05:58:37+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: brics, geopolitics, trade, tariffs, de-dollarization, business, finance
## Three leaders, one photo op
Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin and Narendra Modi are together again, this time in New Delhi for the BRICS summit. Last year's smiling handshake images in China went viral.
## A messier backdrop
The US and Israel are at war with Iran, Washington is pressing Moscow on Ukraine, and Trump's trade policy has strained ties with allies and rivals alike.
## Not a Trump creation
India and Russia have been close for decades, and the India-China thaw started before the current trade fight. Tariffs and sanctions are just one more input.
## Xi returns to India
This is Xi's first India visit since 2019, part of a cautious reset after the deadly 2020 Himalayan border clashes. Flights, visas and senior contacts are back.
## The friction has not gone
Border disputes, India's big trade deficit with Beijing and a strategic rivalry across Asia still sit under the handshakes. India also sits in the Quad with the US.

> India has long pursued strategic autonomy
## Why Delhi is hedging
Chatham House's Chietigj Bajpaee says strain with the Trump administration has pushed New Delhi to reinvest in other relationships, including a warmer line to Beijing.

> The meeting between Modi and Xi is likely to further advance the ongoing reset in bilateral relations and build confidence.
## Putin needs the buffer
Western sanctions made non-Western partners essential. China is now a critical economic partner and India a major buyer of Russian oil, proof Moscow still has big customers.
## Payments, not revolution
BRICS is talking local-currency trade and alternative cross-border payment rails. India wants cheaper transactions and digital payments, not a full push to dump the dollar.
## Trump's dollar red line
Trump has called BRICS an attack on the dollar and threatened tariffs on members who undermine it. Even the Kremlin says it is not chasing outright de-dollarisation.

> attack on the dollar
## A dysfunctional family
The Quincy Institute's Sarang Shidore points to Iran and the UAE sitting in the same club while backing opposite sides of the Middle East war. Consensus is hard.

> a pragmatic club for limited purposes
## Not an anti-US bloc
Members want development, trade and reformed global institutions, while keeping Washington close. The UAE just pledged $46 billion to Germany, and Xi visits the US this month.
## Key takeaway

Trump's pressure did not create BRICS, but it is making its members work harder at building trade and payment routes that do not run through Washington.