New Delhi, 8 Sept 

The world is seeking a stable and predictable environment for trade and investment, and economic practices should be fair, transparent and to everyone's benefit, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Monday, amid increasing global concerns over Washington's tariff tussle.

In an address at a virtual BRICS summit, the minister said India strongly believes that the foundational principles such as open, fair, transparent and non-discriminatory approach of the international trading system must be protected.

He represented Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the summit that saw participation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin among other leaders.

The summit was convened by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to discuss trade disruptions triggered by Washington's policies on trade and tariff.

"When there are multiple disruptions, our objective should be to proof it against such shocks. That means creating more resilient, reliable, redundant and shorter supply chains," he said. Jaishankar said the world requires "constructive and cooperative" approaches to promote trade that is sustainable.

"Where India is concerned, some of our biggest deficits are with BRICS partners and we have been pressing for expeditious solutions. We hope that this realisation will be part of the takeaways from today's meeting," he said. The remarks assumed significance as they came amid India's ballooning trade deficit with China.

'Increasing trade barriers won’t help'

"Increasing barriers and complicating transactions will not help. Neither would the linking of trade measures to non-trade matters," India said at a virtual BRICS summit on Monday.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said the BRICS itself can set an example by reviewing trade flows among its member states. He added that the "state of the world today is a cause for genuine concern".

He listed the devastating impact of the Covid pandemic, major conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East and volatility in trade and investment flows as well as extreme climate events as some of the major challenges. "In the face of these challenges, the multilateral system appears to be failing the world," he said.

Xi calls for united response to face tariffs

Chinese President Xi Jinping called for a unified response by the BRICS countries to trade challenges posed by the US, saying that Washington's tariff wars severely disrupted the world economy and undermined international trade rules.

Speaking via a video link to the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) leaders' meeting convened by Brazilian President Lula De Silva, Xi said, “as we speak, transformation unseen in a century is accelerating across the world”.

"Hegemonism, unilateralism, and protectionism are getting more and more rampant. Trade wars and tariff wars waged by some country severely disrupt the world economy and undermine international trade rules,” he said, without directly naming the US or its President Donald Trump.

Stop tariff blackmail: Lula

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva denounced what he called "tariff blackmail" after the US imposed a 50 per cent import charge on Brazilian goods. He added that his country does not take orders from anybody.

"Tariff blackmail is being normalised as an instrument for market conquest and to interfere in domestic affairs," Lula said.