India on Monday pressed BRICS nations to help reduce New Delhi’s trade deficits with the group, even as members united in criticism of United States President Donald Trump’s tariff measures.

At a virtual BRICS summit, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said “India’s biggest trade deficits are with BRICS partners.”

He represented India in place of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who recently attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in China amid strains with Washington.

The bloc, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — has been accused by Trump of advancing “anti-American policies.”

Host Brazil accused the U.S. of “blackmail” over tariffs as high as 50 per cent while Chinese President Xi Jinping warned against “hegemonism, unilateralism and protectionism.”

“Trade wars and tariff wars waged by some country severely disrupt the world economy and undermine international trade rules,” Xi said.

India regards BRICS chiefly as an economic forum, unlike China and Russia, which see it in geopolitical terms, according to Chietigj Bajpaee of Chatham House.

In line with that outlook, New Delhi has supported projects such as the New Development Bank and a liquidity safety net.

“In China’s strategic vision, BRICS engagement supplements the Belt and Road Initiative’s geoeconomic focus and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s geopolitical-security role in expanding China’s global influence,” the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said in a research report in March.

China posted a $77.7 billion trade surplus with India in the year to August, up 16% from a year earlier, according to Chinese customs data released Monday.

“The BRICS itself can set an example by reviewing trade flows among its member states,” Jaishankar said, adding that India had been pressing for “expeditious solutions” to address trade deficits.