Igor Patrickin Rio de JaneiroandKhushboo Razdanin Washington

Members of the Brics nations logged into a virtual summit on Monday, convened by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, intending to take a defiant stand against US President Donald Trump’s escalating trade war.

Instead, the quickly assembled outing became an exercise in caution, as the bloc’s heavyweights, Brazil and India, sought to steer clear of further enraging the “America-first” leader.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a founding Brics leader, skipped the meeting, sending Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in his place in a signal of a careful balancing act with Washington, as Trump has made no secret of his anger towards the bloc.

Jaishankar, a seasoned diplomat, embodied this balancing act on screen. “Increasing barriers and complicating transactions will not help, neither would the linking of trade measures to non-trade matters,” he declared in a subtle jab at Washington’s tariff tactics.

He quickly turned inward, pressing Brics partners to address India’sballooning trade deficits – like the US$99 billion gap with Beijing last year.

“Brics itself can set an example by reviewing trade flows among its member states, where India is concerned, some of our biggest deficits are with Brics partners, and we’ve been pressing for expeditious solutions,” he said, without naming China.