BRICS Outperforms US, Becomes Top Copper Exporter: A New World Order?
The global economic landscape is shifting, and a key indicator is the recent surge of BRICS nations in copper exports. The BRICS alliance has outperformed the US by a large margin in copper exports around the world for FY . This marks a significant power shift, challenging the traditional dominance of the United States in the global copper market.
China Leads the Charge in BRICS Copper Exports
BRICS member China is leading the pack for copper. Their increased export capacity, driven by growing domestic demand and strategic investments in copper mining and processing, has propelled the BRICS bloc to the forefront of the global copper trade. But some claim that copper Artificial export incentives by the BRICS threaten large shares of trading partner’s exports. Evidence is also mounting up as to the impact of these state-inducements.
US-BRICS Trade Dynamics: A Shifting Balance
The United States faces a growing trade deficit with the BRICS nations. In 2025, the U.S. shipped goods with a value of almost $300 billion to BRICS countries, while buying merchandise worth almost $650 billion, including in major. This disparity highlights the increasing economic influence of the BRICS countries and their growing dominance in key sectors like copper. The U.S. Census Bureau and the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) track these trends closely. Here we will look at the top BRICS exporters to the US for goods only in the ten months of 2025.
The Threat of Trade Wars and Tariffs
The rise of BRICS has not gone unnoticed by the United States. President-elect Donald Trump has pledged a 100% tariff against BRICS nations if they continue to undermine the U.S. dollar, but the threat won't rein in the group's. This potential for trade wars and tariffs adds further uncertainty to the global economic outlook. In this article we examine the existing bilateral trade volumes between the United States and the ten full BRICS members, and the impact tariff introductions would have.
BRICS Economic Growth and Global Impact
The strong economic performance of the BRICS nations is contributing significantly to global growth. In 2025, BRICS collectively reached 4% GDP growth, while worldwide growth stood at 3.3%. IMF data also reveals that BRICS accounted for 40% of the global economy (measured by.) This demonstrates the increasing importance of BRICS as a driver of global economic activity.
The Future of Copper Exports and Global Trade
The shift in copper export dominance from the US to BRICS signals a broader realignment of global economic power. As BRICS nations continue to invest in their economies and expand their trade relationships, their influence on global markets will only continue to grow. The question remains whether the US can effectively compete in this evolving landscape, or if it will be forced to adapt to a new world order dominated by the BRICS.