The Impact of Saudi Arabia’s Accession to the Brics Bloc on the Performance of Saudi Exports

Abstract This study aims to analyze the expected impacts of Saudi Arabia’s accession to the BRICS bloc, which is intergovernmental organization comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. By analyzing the intra-trade flows of Saudi Arabia with the BRICS countries from the implementation of the bloc until 2023 and measuring the impact of Saudi exports and imports with BRICS on the balance of merchandise trade, and to discuss the extent of the impact of the net intra-trade situation of Saudi Arabia with BRICS on the balance of merchandise trade. The most prominent Saudi export sectors were diagnosed, and their corresponding customs tariff averages in the BRICS countries were analyzed to determine the expected effects of implementing a regional trade agreement (RTA) between the BRICS bloc. The study is based on the ARDL model and Saudi data from (2003-2022), using three models by applying on exports, imports, and trade balance of Saudi Arabia, the findings suggests that there is no significant relationship between Saudi Arabia’s trade balance on the one hand, and exports, imports and the trade balance with BRICS on the other hand, which reduces the impact of Saudi Arabia’s accession to BRICS on Saudi exports. which requires further negotiation of mutual obligations and potential gains between the member states of BRICS.