International Secretariat News 07/17/25

BRICS 2025 welcomes one new member and ten new partner countries.

The BRICS 2025 summit (Rio de Janerio, Brazil, July 6-7) welcomed the Republic of Indonesia as a new member and ten new partner countries – Nigeria, Cuba, Vietnam, Uganda, Belarus, Bolivia, Khazakhstan, Malaysia, Thailand, and Uzbekistan.

The 2025 Leader’s Declaration reiterated the urgent need to reform the Bretton Woods Institution as the global economy is changing. Emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs) must be given a voice to reflect their growing influence and participation in the global economy. Furthermore, the Declaration demanded increased regional diversity and representation of EMDEs in the leadership of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group and an increase in women at the managerial level.

While strongly supporting Ethiopia’s and Iran’s entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Declaration voiced serious concerns about unilateral tariffs and non-tariff measures which are inconsistent with WTO rules.

The Declaration condemned the imposition of illegal sanctions as they have far-reaching negative implications for human rights, development rights, health and food security, and disproportionally affect the poor and people in vulnerable situations. The leader’s called for the elimination of all illegal sanctions.

The Declaration condemned the military attack on Iran and reaffirmed the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, including their right to an independent Palestinian State.

The Declaration also reiterated that the principle “African solutions to African problems” should continue to serve as the basis for conflict resolution on the African continent.

The Declaration can be found at: Rio de Janeiro Declaration – brics.br

Update on Haitian Immigration issues by Haitian Women for Haitian Refugees: 

Last week, we celebrated a legal victory: a federal judge blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to illegally cut short Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians. The decision protects hundreds of thousands of families from losing their legal status overnight—and it happened because people organized, resisted, and showed up.

But even as we win, we prepare for government appeals and Supreme Court decisions that seek to undermine our rights.’

The travel ban has been revived—this time with a full ban targeting Haiti. CHNV and CBP One, humanitarian parole-based applications greatly affecting our community, have been terminated and people are being pushed out of legal status. Employers are already firing workers en masse. ICE is showing up in shelters, schools, and hospitals. Deportations are being fast tracked.

The U.S. has also built what’s been named “Alligator Alcatraz”—a massive detention complex in rural Florida designed to imprison immigrants on the sacred homelands of First Nations, including the Muscogee people. Isolated from legal support, families, and public oversight—it’s a modern-day concentration camp for Black and Brown refugees, migrants and asylum seekers.

China is becoming Cuba’s main bebefactor.

China is surpassing Russia as the main benefactor of Cuba. Russia has historically promised support to the Industrial health of Cuba but has failed to deliver on these promises. Some of the proposed projects include the reopening of a large steel mill as well as the revitalization of agricultural productive capacities. Unfortunately, these projects have not seen completion which can be largely attributed to the Russia-Ukraine war.

Meanwhile, China has underwritten 55 solar parks in Cuba in which development and land preparation has begun. One of these parks is estimated to provide 51 megawatts of power. Another 37 are planned to be built by 2038 providing 2,000 megawatts which amounts to ⅔ of current demand. Developing sustainable power infrastructure is a major challenge for the Cuban people given that this year alone the island has experienced 4 power outages. This sort of support is necessary given the viscous economic attacks the Cuban people have endured for so long.

The Cuban people have had their development stifled by a decades long blockade that began in 1959. The most recent developments include the Trump administrations’ renewal of Cuba’s place on the State Sponsors of Terrorism list at the beginning of 2025 and the recent presidential memorandum that was announced on June 30th. The memorandum calls for an all out intensification of the economic strangulation that currently exists as well as undermining the Cuban government and its people through support of the private sector and political dissidents.

Trump announces trade deal with Vietnam

July 2, 2025

President Trump says the U.S. has made a trade deal with Vietnam as part of his push to renegotiate tariffs with dozens of different countries around the world. It comes as the president’s self-imposed deadline for those tariff negotiations is just a week away.

In a social media post, Trump said tariffs will now be 20% on goods from Vietnam and 40% on goods shipped through Vietnam. While Trump wrote that Vietnam will pay these tariffs, that is untrue. U.S. businesses importing goods from Vietnam will be paying the taxes to the government.

He said that in return, Vietnam would “give the United States of America TOTAL ACCESS to their Markets for Trade,” meaning that “we will be able to sell our product into Vietnam at ZERO Tariff.” He specifically cited SUVs as a product that would be exported in larger numbers to Vietnam. However, the White House has not released further details on this agreement…

However, with significant trade imbalance favoring Vietnam raising concerns in Washington — the U.S. trade deficit reached over $123.5 billion in 2024 and $39.1 billion in the first quarter of 2025, U.S. officials have been pressing Vietnam to address non-trade barriers, combat fraud, and curb illegal transshipments. They also urge Vietnam to further open its market to U.S. goods and services.

By Nga Pham and Danielle Kurtzleben

Source: https://www.npr.org/2025/07/02/nx-s1-5422252/trump-trade-deal-vietnam-tariff