Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa have invited six additional countries to join the BRICS alliance, including major oil and critical mineral producers. Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA), a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, warned the newly invited nations that they should exercise caution in dealing with China, and he highlighted the need for the U.S. and its allies to strengthen their energy industries.
"The expansion of BRICS is an attempt by China and Russia to gain more control over the world economy," said Carter. "Countries should be cautious of working alongside China, which has a significant track record of bullying other nations for power and control. The U.S. and our allies – including those in BRICS – should counter these attempts to win influence by unleashing American energy dominance."
Twenty-three countries applied to join BRICS, and BRICS leaders recently extended invitations to six of them: Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to a report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The report said that with the six new countries, BRICS could take an approach similar to that of the U.S.-led Minerals Security Partnership (MPS), an initiative to bolster critical energy security for the U.S. and its allies.
The invitation marks the first expansion of BRICS in 13 years, Reuters reported.
"This membership expansion is historic," Chinese President Xi Jinping said. "It shows the determination of BRICS countries for unity and cooperation with the broader developing countries."
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said the additional countries will become formal members on Jan. 1, 2024.
"BRICS has embarked on a new chapter in its effort to build a world that is fair, a world that is just, a world that is also inclusive and prosperous," Ramaphosa said. "We have consensus on the first phase of this expansion process and other phases will follow."
With Argentina in addition to China and Brazil, BRICS will have three of the five largest global lithium producers, according to the CSIS report. Argentina is expected to become the second largest lithium producer in the world by 2027, surpassing Chile, and to increase its share of the global lithium supply to 16% by 2030, according to a 2022 JPMorgan forecast. Saudi Arabia has also been making major investments in lithium, including a recent $2.6 billion deal to purchase a stake in a prominent Brazilian mining company.
BRICS countries have increased their use of critical mineral export restrictions over the last decade, and those restrictions could become more "coordinated" with the addition of new members.
"Either individual or bloc sanctions could be crippling for national and energy security for the rest of the world," the report said.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Iran are three of the largest oil exporters in the world, and their addition to BRICS would mean the alliance controls 42% of the world's oil supply, according to the report. The major oil and gas producers and importers in the expanded BRICS share a joint interest in creating ways to trade their commodities outside of the G7 financial framework. While the dollar still dominates the global oil trade, more and more energy deals are being transacted with other currencies like the rupee and the renminbi.
"For energy markets, enlarging BRICS is largely symbolic for now—but it is another sign that countries are exploring ways to skirt the U.S. financial system and the reach of the dollar," the report said.
