As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office, world leaders are bracing themselves for a significant shift in American foreign policy.
World Leaders Prepare for a Shift in U.S. Foreign Policy
As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office, world leaders are bracing themselves for a significant shift in American foreign policy.
China’s Uncertain Future
In China, there is growing concern about the impact of Trump’s second term on the country’s economy. The first time around, Trump launched a trade war against China, and he has promised even higher tariffs this time. Chinese leader Xi Jinping had a call with Trump this week, and Beijing is sending its vice president to Washington for the inauguration.
Wu Xinbo, director of the Center for American Studies at Shanghai’s Fudan University, says there is a lot of uncertainty about what the future holds. “I think the Chinese side has been making preparations for all kinds of scenarios,” he says. “We have learned that dealing with Trump requires being tough and flexible.”
China has been testing out asymmetric trade warfare, Wu notes. When the Biden administration increased restrictions on the sale of technology to China, Beijing responded by tightening controls over rare earth mineral exports to the U.S.
Ireland‘s Economic Concerns
Donald Trump may also take aim at a smaller economy, Ireland. The country is home to many U.S. multinational companies that base their intellectual property there, allowing them to pay Irish corporate tax rates of 12.5%, compared to 21% in the U.S.
Economist Aidan Regan calls this an “America-last model.” “It’s not unreasonable to expect U.S. companies to pay taxes on where their big market is, in the USA,” he says.
Ireland‘s Prime Minister Simon Harris has acknowledged that the country is vulnerable to economic shock from Trump’s policies. “This is a time of risk and uncertainty for Ireland,” he says.
Mexico’s Fears
In Mexico, there are concerns about Trump’s expansionist policies and his threats to intervene militarily against drug cartels in the country. Pedro Fernandez, a historian and novelist, notes that an American president openly meddling with Mexico is nothing new.
“The United States have always wanted to control the continent,” he says. “We lost helpful territory to the U.S. after the Mexican-American War.”
Fernandez also quotes the famous phrase attributed to President Porfirio Diaz: “Poor Mexico, so far from God, so close to the United States.” He notes that this means that Mexico and the U.S. have a complex relationship, marked by both cooperation and conflict.
A New Era in U.S. Foreign Policy
As Trump prepares to take office, world leaders are bracing themselves for a significant shift in American foreign policy. With promises of higher tariffs, trade wars, and military intervention, the future is uncertain for many countries.
In this new era, one thing is clear: the United States will be taking a more assertive role on the global stage. World leaders must now navigate this new landscape and prepare for the challenges that lie ahead.
