9th BRICS Trade Ministers Meet held in Brazil

The 9th BRICS Trade Ministers Meet was held in Brasilia, Brazil. It was attended by Union Minister Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, during which he deliberated on global economic climate with his counterparts from other member nations.

Key Deliberations at Meet

The global economic outlook is facing grave challenges amidst growing protectionism and rising trade tensions manifested in unilateral measures, therefore, Trade and Investment cooperation between BRICS nations must be advanced.

Growing trend of non-tariff barriers (NTBs) which deny market access is leading to economic uncertainty as well as raising the cost of doing trade for developing countries especially Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). Thus it is important to preserve rules-based trading system and adequate low-cost finance to provide sustainability for MSME. A win-win mindset is also needed from all concerned countries to spur trade & promote equity.

The need of the hour is to develop digital infrastructure, digital skills and institutions particularly in developing and less developed world.

With a view to balanced and equitable outcomes, the BRICS member countries must look at ways and means to increase cooperation amongst themselves across all modes of services.

What is BRICS?

It is an abbreviation for an association of 5 major emerging national economies, namely- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The association was founded in 2006 and was originally grouped as first four as “BRIC”, before South Africa joined it in 2010. The BRICS countries comprises of 42% of the world’s population, having 23% of global GDP.

Month: Current Affairs - November, 2019