President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on Brics nations to take a leading role in reforming multilateral institutions, warning that rising protectionism and unilateral tariff actions are threatening the global economy, particularly for countries of the Global South.
Addressing Brics leaders during a recent online summit, Ramaphosa said the world was experiencing “cosmic shifts” in trade, moving from a unipolar to a multipolar order. This realignment, he cautioned, was being marked by intensifying geopolitical tensions and growing competition.
He warned that “the progress and economic dynamism of emerging economies” was being undermined by disruption and instability.
New shocks to global trade patterns, international financing and critical minerals flows, combined with sovereign debt burdens and imbalanced tax regimes, were creating fresh uncertainty for policymakers, consumers and companies.
“Unilateral tariff actions are contributing to an increasingly protectionist environment that poses great hardships and dangers for countries of the Global South,” he said.
“The uncertainty of the new trading regime has negatively affected employment levels in South Africa and remains an obstacle to our economic growth.”
According to Ramaphosa, Brics continues to play a central role in advocating for reforms to ensure the global trading system is more inclusive, representative and fit for purpose.
“As South Africa, we will continue to support meaningful Brics initiatives that improve the resilience of our economies as Brics countries and those of the Global South, while strengthening the global multilateral system.”
- Read the full article in our Freight Features magazine edition on the ‘Far East’, available on Friday, September 19.
