BRICS Calls For Greater Voice Of Emerging Economies In IMF, World Bank

New Delhi: BRICS finance ministers and central bank governors on Friday called for greater representation of emerging-market and developing economies in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, and criticised unilateral tariffs and trade measures, as the expanded bloc sought to strengthen financial cooperation amid rising geopolitical and economic fragmentation.

The remarks come at a time when the USA trade & tariff policies have disrupted the trade globally. Declaring April 2, 2025, as ‘Liberation Day’, US President Donald Trump announced a sweeping package of reciprocal global tariffs on a host of countries, including India, Brazil, Russia and China. Though these tariffs were struck down by the US Supreme Court in February the Trump administration imposed additional 10 per cent tariffs on a number of countries, including India, from July 24.

In a joint statement issued after the meeting here, the finance ministers and central bank governors backed greater use of local currencies for trade and investment, and pushed ahead with work on cross-border payment systems. “The global economy faced heightened risks from geopolitical tensions, trade fragmentation, protectionism, policy uncertainty, fiscal and inflationary pressures, debt and financial vulnerabilities,” they said.

“We continue to have serious concerns about the unilateral imposition of trade and finance-related actions, including the raising of tariffs and non-tariff measures, which distort trade and are inconsistent with World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules," BRICS members said without naming any country.

“Such pressures weighed most heavily on emerging markets and developing economies and reaffirmed support for an open, transparent, inclusive, non-discriminatory, and rules-based multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core,” they noted.

The BRICS grouping renewed its call for reform of the Bretton Woods institutions, saying their governance structures should reflect the transformation of the global economy since the institutions were established. The bloc called for a greater voice and representation for emerging-market and developing economies in the IMF and World Bank, including through changes to quota and voting shares.

BRICS also urged the IMF to bring into effect without further delay the quota increases agreed under its 16th General Review of Quotas and called for approaches to "meaningful quota realignment" to be developed at the earliest under the 17th review. “Any new quota formula should protect the shares of the poorest members and that voluntary financial contributions should not influence quota allocation, governance representation or voting power,” the group said.

Under India's 2026 BRICS chairship, members also said that they had continued work on the bloc's cross-border payments initiative, including examining interoperability between payment and messaging systems. “The BRICS Payment Task Force has also discussed promoting trade settlements and investment using members' local currencies while recognising that there is no one-size-fits-all approach,” the statement said.

As per the statement, BRICS central banks have also worked on a range of initiatives during India’s chair, holding 19 meetings and four in-person events and producing 13 reports and technical papers. “The bloc backed a greater role for the New Development Bank (NDB) in financing development and infrastructure projects across BRICS and the Global South,” it said.

Members, however, encouraged the bank to mobilise resources, expand local-currency financing, strengthen project-preparation facilities and diversify funding sources. They also welcomed the progress of the BRICS multilateral guarantees initiative, which is intended to help mobilise private capital, improve the creditworthiness of projects and reduce financing costs. “Technical work would continue on a proposed New Investment Platform, with members supporting a phased, consensus-based and member-driven approach that respects national sovereignty and differing regulatory frameworks,” the group said. #end#