GEOPOLITICS
Preface: It is vital to note that BRICS has emerged principally as a consequence of geopolitical maneuvering.
It is the emergence of great power's in the east that has altered the balance of power. That means ending the post WW2 hegemonic dominance of the Anglo American Western Empire (The US and its Capital Finance Petrodollar establishment of former colonial powers turned Western vassals).
To put it another way, United States and its reserve currency (USD) unipolar world is today already widely recognised as a multipolar world. While it has been former cold war rival of the US, the then Soviet Union, todays Russian Federation, that has made the boldest and most sensational geostrategic and military advances, most notably the strategic defeat of the entirety of NATO through their proxy, Ukraine, the real momentum has actually been more gradually building quietly through China and India. In this way, many of the former Western vassals, the Petrodollar gulf monarchies and Iran, Brazil, Egypt and others have redefined global powers from OPEC, the G7 and The United Nations system and SWIFT financial instrument, to one taking shape and only recently finding actual implrmentation, around a BRICS structure.
Russia and China have sought to urgently diversify from their US Treasury holdings and found great success using gold and their own currency. Russias oil for gold and oil for Rubles program's along with outstanding diplomacy have allowed them to defy weaponising of propaganda and such through the post Bretton Woods USD institution's. This includes sanctions and measures by the US Departments of State and Pentagon, The UN, WEF, World Bank, EU, NATO to weaken their global standing. Moreover, it has only resulted in stronger alliance's in BRICS as the emerging great powers know that they are stronger together and that each needs the other.
South Africa has been a slow starter and has only recently been making bold gestures of overt inclination towards the East as its economic destiny.
While SA's Manufacturing base has not been as supercharged as other BRICS nations and its trade balance is a deficit with BRICS partners, meaning it is still an import heavy nation, opportunities exist with commodities, energy and certain local niches such as the Rooibos tea grown only near the table mountain part of the globe. These are products whose success in BRICS is already ordained and only the absence of a gobal marketing apperatus has left them unrealised.
This is what is missing from SA, and is the next step to take now that SA has been bolder it admitting publicly its BRICS aspirations and in some cases even openly defied the US attempts to them to heel.
Watch this space!
TRADE
There is no single formal "BRICS trade agreement," but rather a framework for economic cooperation with agreements on specific areas like customs and energy efficiency, supported by institutions like the New Development Bank. South Africa's trade with other BRICS nations is growing significantly, but it also faces a persistent trade deficit. The BRICS Business Council serves as a platform for the private sector to facilitate trade and investment, with a goal to create a more business-friendly environment.
What is the BRICS Framework?
- BRICS began as an informal alliance of economic powers and has evolved into an association that supports economic cooperation and the Strategy for BRICS Economic Partnership.
- The group has established the New Development Bank (NDB) for financing infrastructure projects and the BRICS Business Council to connect the business communities of member nation
- While focused on trade and investment, BRICS is not a formal trade bloc with a comprehensive, legally binding agreement.
South Africa's Trade with BRICS Nations
- BRICS nations are significant trading partners for South Africa, with substantial growth in both exports and imports since 2016.
- South Africa has continuously recorded a growing deficit in its balance of trade with other BRICS economies, which has more than quadrupled since 2010, according to Business Tech.
- Significant growth in South African exports to China has been a primary contributor to the overall trade increase.
Opportunities for Trade and Investment
- The BRICS framework aims to develop market access opportunities and inter-linkages between member countries.
- The South African agricultural sector is particularly interested in leveraging BRICS to boost exports of products like fruits, wine, wool, and beef to China and India.
- South Africa's developed infrastructure, including ports, railways, and logistics networks, positions it to act as a conduit for trade and investment into the wider African continent.
