The US and BRICS, an Increasingly Multipolar World.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

As the world moves past Western dominance, the rise of other powers raises questions about the future world order. Donald Trump’s second term has seen a back-pedal of US foreign policy, with Trump himself being seen as a challenge to the liberal international order. Amid US ideological struggles, BRICS, named after the first five members of the bloc – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – has risen to contention for hegemony. This raises questions about the emergence of a multipolar world, where power would be distributed among several major states. BRICS was formed in 2009 and now comprises 11 states, representing nearly half the world’s population and more than a third of global GDP. BRICS rapidly expanded in 2024 and 2025, adding Iran, Egypt, the UAE, and Ethiopia in 2024, and crucially welcomed Indonesia as the first Southeast Asian country into its bloc in January 2025. With the addition of Indonesia, indicating the bloc’s growing motivation to expand its influence, particularly in the Indo-Pacific in this case, the bloc poses a great challenge to American dominance. What then can the US do to salvage its position on the world stage?  

US-BRICS relations have wavered recently with Trump’s imposition of hefty tariffs – 50% on India and Brazil. With Washington’s threat of an extra 10% tariff on countries it deems ‘siding’ with the bloc’s anti-American policies, it is unlikely that any sort of reconciliation will be seen soon. What the US now needs to do is to focus its attention on relations with India, Brazil and South Africa, countries dubbed the ‘global swing states’. Global swing states are states with significant influence in the future international order by shaping norms and institutions without fully committing to one bloc. As the US, China and Russia battle for hegemony, these states - Brazil, India, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and Türkiye - would be instrumental in deciding the future geopolitical landscape. 

US competition with the major powers of China and Russia is inevitable; however, it is a mistake – a potentially costly one – to drive the other states away, further into the arms of Beijing and Moscow. Take India, for instance, a state with which the US has enjoyed warm relations, and which shares similar values and interests. India and the US have profound economic ties, with the US as India’s largest trading partner, but the previously optimistic view India held for Trump’s second term has waned. Since taking office for the second time, Trump has repeatedly antagonised India. The Trump administration imposed targeted tariffs of 25% over India’s import of Russian oil, and Trump’s repeated claim that he was instrumental in stopping the India-Pakistan conflict has also irritated New Delhi. The strained US and India relationship has seen significant domestic impacts, from boycotts of American goods in India due to Trump’s tariffs to calls from New Delhi for India to cut ties with the US and instead turn solely to Russia and China. The hosting of Pakistani army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, in the White House has certainly not improved relations either. Furthermore, Narendra Modi’s meeting with Vladimir Putin signals the message that neither would be intimidated by US pressure, with both countries seeking to show their autonomy and strength. 

In the case of India, the US should look specifically at its relationship with China. China’s rise has the potential to fundamentally reshape the international system. If it continues to grow economically, it will attempt to achieve regional hegemony in Asia, the same way the US dominated the Western Hemisphere. This poses risks to its neighbours, including India, that the US should exploit. Theoretically, to contain China, India will have no choice but to join with the US to mitigate Chinese power. However, if the US continues down this path of foreign policy towards India, New Delhi may not see an alliance with the US as an option. 

The US and South Africa have had a tumultuous relationship since Trump’s first term. As a result of South Africa’s stance on the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Gaza conflict, the US has legitimate grievances against the country. South Africa’s stance on the Russo-Ukraine war, which has settled into a neutral, and at times even pro-Russian stance, is of great concern to the US, especially considering South Africa is the African continent’s largest economy. Tensions reached a boiling point in February 2025 when Trump signed an executive order to cut aid to South Africa and offer asylum to white Afrikaners. One of the reasons cited by Trump was South Africa’s genocide case against Israel, a close US ally.  Trump also boycotted the G20 summit hosted by South Africa in November, the first G20 to be hosted on African soil. In response, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said that the US’s absence was ‘regrettable’ and that it was ‘their loss’. The G20 represents around 85% of the world's GDP, 75% of global trade and 60% of the planet’s population. Snubbing this summit only serves to drive the US further into its isolationist rhetoric.

Like with the US and India, US-Brazil relations are rooted in shared democratic values. However, this relationship has recently been plagued by political friction, particularly concerning sanctions following the former President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro’s High Court Trial due to his campaign to disrupt Brazil’s democracy. Trump, as an avid ally of Bolsonaro, imposed 50% tariffs on most Brazilian exports, issued visa bans for Brazilian Supreme Court justices and placed financial sanctions on the judge handling the case, Alexandre de Moraes. With Bolsonaro found guilty, this does not bode well for the US’s relations with Brazil in the near future.

If the US wants to preserve its global hegemony, instead of agitating these ‘swing states’, Washington should move to team up with them. By using India to balance China’s power in the Asia-Pacific region, maintaining and advancing trade ties with Brazil and mitigating tensions with South Africa, the US could utilise these states to bolster its power and advance its global agenda.

China and Russia are determined to create a multipolar world with the ‘swing states’ on their side, using BRICS as a forum through which its members can align positions and pursue collective initiatives without reliance on Western-led frameworks. This will not be easy for Trump’s administration to overcome; however, it is essential that the US at least makes an effort to improve relations with these countries, or the ‘West’ will be ancient history.

Written by Laura Chang Wren

Edited by Janaki Kapadia