Trump's threat on Sunday night came as the US  government prepared to finalize dozens of trade deals with a range of countries before his July 9 deadline for the imposition of significant "retaliatory tariffs."

"Tariffs should not be used as a tool for coercion and pressuring," Mao Ning, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said in Beijing. The BRICS advocates for "win-win cooperation," she added, and "does not target any country."

South Africa, which was slapped with 30% tariffs that were later suspended pending trade talks, reaffirmed that it is "not anti-American," Trade Ministry Spokesperson Kaamil Alli said, adding that talks with the US government "remain constructive and fruitful."

A Kremlin Spokesperson said Russia's cooperation with the BRICS was based on a "common world view" and "will never be directed against third countries."

India and Brazil, which is hosting the BRICS gathering, did not immediately provide an official response to Trump.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told reporters that he would only comment after wrapping up the summit. His opening remarks to BRICS leaders gathered in Rio de Janeiro on Monday focused on the environmental and public health issues on the summit's official agenda.

A Brazilian diplomat who was not authorized to comment officially said Trump's threat underscored the importance of the BRICS group to give developing nations a way to argue for fair and effective global ground rules on topics such as trade.

Many BRICS members and many of the group's partner nations are highly dependent on trade with the US.

New member Indonesia's Senior Economic Minister, Airlangga Hartarto, who is in Brazil for the BRICS summit, is to the US on Monday to oversee tariff talks, an official told Reuters.

Malaysia, which was attending as a partner country and was slapped with 24% tariffs that were later suspended, said that it maintains independent economic policies and is not focused on ideological alignment.

--Reuters--