Washington DC - President Donald Trump threatened China, India, and some of the world's fastest-emerging economies with higher import tariffs, hitting back at BRICS' criticism of his trade policies as the bloc meets Monday.

The 11-nation grouping – which also includes US allies Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia – is concluding a two-day summit in Rio de Janeiro.

On Sunday, BRICS leaders described Trump's stop-start tariff wars as "indiscriminate," damaging, and illegal, drawing a quick rebuke from the pugilistic US president.

"Any Country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% Tariff. There will be no exceptions to this policy," Trump wrote on social media.

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BRICS members account for about half the world's population and 40% of global economic output.

Conceived two decades ago as a forum for fast-growing economies, the BRICS is an expanding and often divergent grouping.

Some US allies inside the bloc had tried to blunt criticism by not mentioning Trump by name in their summit statement.

Saudi Arabia – one of the world's biggest purchasers of US high-tech weapons – even kept its foreign minister away from Sunday's talks and a BRICS "family photo" of leaders, seemingly to avoid Washington's ire.

Such diplomatic gestures were lost on the US president.

In April, Trump threatened a slew of punitive duties, before backing off in the face of a fierce market sell-off.

Now, he is threatening to impose unilateral levies on trading partners unless they reach "deals" by August 1, with BRICS nations seemingly getting higher tariffs than planned.

BRICS leaders have also condemned the recent US and Israeli bombing of Iran's nuclear facilities – a show of solidarity with fellow member Iran.

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Beijing on Monday insisted BRICS was not seeking confrontation with the US.

"China has repeatedly stated its position that trade and tariff wars have no winners and protectionism offers no way forward," foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said.

Beijing also defended the bloc as "an important platform for cooperation between emerging markets and developing countries."

"It advocates openness, inclusivity, and win-win cooperation," Mao said. "It does not engage in camp confrontation and is not targeted at any country."

The political punch of this year's summit has been depleted by the absence of China's Xi Jinping, who skipped the meeting for the first time in his 12 years as president.

The Chinese leader is not the only notable absentee.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, charged with war crimes in Ukraine, also opted to stay away, participating via video link. He told counterparts that BRICS had become a key player in global governance.