BRICS Summit
Kazan. 22–24 October 2024

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BRICS Countries to Focus on Consumer Rights in E-Commerce

The first meeting of the BRICS Contact Group on Economic and Trade Issues as part of Russia’s BRICS Chairship was held online on March 4–5. Representatives of the new member countries also took part in the event.

The participants were unanimous in their regard for the positive trends in the development of trade within BRICS, the active expansion of economic cooperation, the launch of new infrastructure projects, and the continuation of cooperation in investment.

“BRICS already accounts for more than a quarter of global GDP,” Director of Multilateral Economic Cooperation and Special Projects of the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia Nikita Kondratiev said. “Cumulative exports for the BRICS group make up more than 20% of the global total. As of the end of 2023, trade between Russia and its partners in BRICS has increased by 27.8% to a record USD 294.2 billion.”

The Russian delegation acquainted its BRICS partners with a number of initiatives aimed at supporting sustainable economic growth along with the 2024 plan for countering unilateral trade restrictions and supporting a more multilateral trade system, strengthening global value chains, countering ‘green’ protectionism, and facilitating agricultural trade.

During a related session, the Russian delegation drew the attention of participants to the need to review possible points of convergence and deternine ‘red lines’ among the BRICS members on economic issues.

The partners were particularly interested in a Russian initiative for the development of small and medium-sized enterprises. Meeting participants confirmed the need to remove the barriers hindering the development of SMEs within BRICS, the importance of digital mechanisms, and the need to integrate the companies into BRICS supply chains, while expressing their willingness to share the best practices and tools to improve existing support.

One topic recognized as requiring urgent attention within BRICS was the consumer protection in e-commerce. “The Ministry of Economic Development of Russia has made it a priority this year to study the experience of other countries in introducing digital technologies, such as the mechanism of online B2C dispute resolution, into the consumer protection system and to use is as a basis for recommendations on how to raise confidence in e-commerce,” Kondratiev said.

The parties ended the meeting by agreeing to work on new areas of cooperation, such as the use of artificial intelligence in trade and investment, discussing cooperation in free economic zones, and reaffirming their willingness to work together to implement the initiatives of Russia’s Chairship and overcome existing challenges.

The meeting was attended by representatives of the WTO Expertise Center, Rospotrebnadzor, the Digital Economy Autonomous Non-Profit Organization, the Sberbank AI Regulation Center, the UNIDO Centre for International Industrial Cooperation in Russia, and the Association of Clusters, Technology Parks, and SEZ of Russia.

The Roscongress Foundation manages the events of Russia’s BRICS Chairship.

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