BRICS ministers meet in Brazil over Trump trade policies

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Senior diplomats from the BRICS grouping of nations gathered Monday in Brazil to present a united front in the face of US Pres...

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Senior diplomats from the BRICS grouping of nations gathered Monday in Brazil to present a united front in the face of US President Donald Trump's aggressive trade policies.

The meeting comes at a critical moment for the world economy after the International Monetary Fund this week slashed growth forecasts over the impact of the American leader's sweeping new tariffs.

Foreign ministers from the ten-member trading bloc -- which includes current-chair Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- will hold two days of talks in Rio de Janeiro, as a precursor to a July leaders summit.

Ahead of the gathering, Brazil's BRICS representative Mauricio Lyrio said diplomats were negotiating a joint declaration on "the centrality and importance of the multilateral trading system."

The BRICS grouping has expanded significantly since its 2009 inception, and now includes Iran, Egypt, Indonesia, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates. It makes up nearly half of the global population and 39 percent of global GDP.