LEGAL PERSONALITY OF BRICS AND IMPLICATION TOWARD INDONESIA'S FOREIGN TRADE POLICY AFTER JOINING AS NEW MEMBER

Abstract

This article is the authors’ response to Indonesia's joining the BRICS alliance. BRICS is an acronym for its founding countries: the Federative Republic of Brazil, the Russian Federation, the Republic of India, the People's Republic of China, and the Republic of South Africa. The main objectives of BRICS are to increase economic growth, enhance cooperation among its members, and reform the international financial and political systems representing the interests of developing countries. This article investigates the impact of Indonesia's participation in BRICS, particularly on Indonesia's foreign trade policy, by asking two questions. First, what is the legal personality of BRICS regarding international trade relations? Second, can BRICS help Indonesia achieve its international trade policy? It is unclear which specific role BRICS will play concerning international trade relations among its members and how they will cooperate with others if there is no definitive legal commitment among themselves. This article finds that BRICS has no international legal personality as a legal entity and is not an international organization as well as a trading bloc as regulated in Article XXIV of GATT, Enabling Clause, Article V GATS, and General System of Preferences; it is just merely a political Global South networking alliance. It is challenging for BRICS member countries to achieve their objectives if no commitment is made in the form of hard law instruments such as international agreements regulating trade relations. It is time for Indonesia to rethink how to maximize its potential in international Trade by utilizing its participation in PTA with its trading partner.