Let's cast a gaze forward to the first few days of Joe Biden's presidency for a glimpse at how dramatic a departure we're about to witness from the "America First" era.
Read more at:Au revoir 'America First': Biden team ditches Trump-style nationalism with foreign policy picks | CBC News
Showing posts with label America First. Show all posts
Showing posts with label America First. Show all posts
11/27/20
9/16/18
The EU-USA Rupture: “America first” policy goes against EU-US partnership, say EU Parliament MEPs
The
US decision to quit key international deals and start a trade war harms
EU-US ties; but the EU should not give up on the transatlantic bond,
said MEPs on Wednesday.
In a resolution on the state of EU-US relations, approved by 490 votes to 148, with 51 abstentions, MEPs stress that the EU-US relationship is the fundamental guarantor for global stability, but regret that the current US administration has chosen a one-sided “America first” policy, that harms the interests of both the EU and the US and undermines mutual trust.
MEPs seek more clarity on whether the transatlantic bond is still relevant for American partners, as, after the election of US President Trump, MEPs find it difficult to understand new approaches taken by the US on global issues and regional conflicts. “Unilateral moves only weaken the transatlantic partnership,” the resolution says.
MEPs stress that the recent US decision to quit key international agreements, commitments and forums puts at risk common values and the EU-US partnership. They criticise President Trump’s decision to leave the Paris climate agreement, the Iran nuclear deal, and to apply extraterritorial measures on EU companies in Iran.
Read more: “America first” policy goes against EU-US partnership, say MEPs – The European Sting - Critical News
In a resolution on the state of EU-US relations, approved by 490 votes to 148, with 51 abstentions, MEPs stress that the EU-US relationship is the fundamental guarantor for global stability, but regret that the current US administration has chosen a one-sided “America first” policy, that harms the interests of both the EU and the US and undermines mutual trust.
MEPs seek more clarity on whether the transatlantic bond is still relevant for American partners, as, after the election of US President Trump, MEPs find it difficult to understand new approaches taken by the US on global issues and regional conflicts. “Unilateral moves only weaken the transatlantic partnership,” the resolution says.
MEPs stress that the recent US decision to quit key international agreements, commitments and forums puts at risk common values and the EU-US partnership. They criticise President Trump’s decision to leave the Paris climate agreement, the Iran nuclear deal, and to apply extraterritorial measures on EU companies in Iran.
Read more: “America first” policy goes against EU-US partnership, say MEPs – The European Sting - Critical News
1/30/18
EU-US Relations: Donald Trump's America First backlash: How Europe could be the unexpected beneficiary of America’s fall from global grace
US president Donald Trump has promised to put America first. His
protectionist stance on trade, his implicit threats to pull military
protection from countries that do not contribute sufficiently to NATO,
and his decision to pull the US out of the Paris agreement on climate
change are all designed to rebalance what Trump sees as a drain on
American resources. But the net result may be to put America last, as
allies in every part of the world seek out new relationships to shore up
an international system on which they depend.
As the US loses influence, however, other countries will find opportunity. While Russia and China have aggressively courted influence, Europe, too, could be a beneficiary of America’s fall from global grace—if it plays its cards right.
Washington’s dirty secret is that America’s lead over the rest of the world—economic, military and political—has been in steep decline for decades. After World War II, the US constituted half of the global economy. Today, that share is closer to 25%, according to an analysis of the IMF’s World Economic Outlook Database. Meanwhile, challenger nations such as China have gone from having a GDP equal to less than one-fifth of the US economy in 1990 to exceeding it today (at least if GDP is adjusted for differences in purchasing power).
The miracle of American foreign policy has been the ability of successive administrations to maintain influence in the face of their country’s relative decline. US governments have attempted to ensure that every region of the world maintains a balance of power that ultimately favors American interests. This means that Washington could afford to lose weight in relative terms so long as smaller players in each region allied with America against the rising regional power—whether that regional power was China, Russia, or Iran.
The secret sauce of this strategy was the way Washington allowed its allies to share in the benefits of American hegemony. Europeans, for example, were allowed to benefit from US military spending and the security is provided without having to come up with equivalent spending on their own. Today, however, under the slogan “America First,” Trump is ripping up that playbook—and the net result could be that many American allies are forced to develop relations with regional challengers to hedge against their abandonment by Washington.
As a result, the US might well end up poorer, less influential, and less secure. The risk is not so much that the US incurs losses in individual diplomatic conflicts or isolated trade disputes. However, if America’s allies are forced into new alliances with America’s foes, the new system that emerges will be less conducive to America’s interests.
Trump’s proposals on trade policy and his Republicans tax plan has set the US on a collision course. Were Trump to implement a tariff on cars produced in Mexico, it would not only attract the wrath of Mexico—the German government could also be forced to act, given its car producers’ reliance on plants in Mexico.
Congressman Paul Ryan’s plan for a corporate tax with border tax adjustment would have effectively put a tariff on imports into the US from everywhere in the world, and would have created the equivalent of an export subsidy for everything produced in the US.
Read more: Donald Trump's America First backlash: How Europe could be the unexpected beneficiary of America’s fall from global grace — Quartz
As the US loses influence, however, other countries will find opportunity. While Russia and China have aggressively courted influence, Europe, too, could be a beneficiary of America’s fall from global grace—if it plays its cards right.
Washington’s dirty secret is that America’s lead over the rest of the world—economic, military and political—has been in steep decline for decades. After World War II, the US constituted half of the global economy. Today, that share is closer to 25%, according to an analysis of the IMF’s World Economic Outlook Database. Meanwhile, challenger nations such as China have gone from having a GDP equal to less than one-fifth of the US economy in 1990 to exceeding it today (at least if GDP is adjusted for differences in purchasing power).
The miracle of American foreign policy has been the ability of successive administrations to maintain influence in the face of their country’s relative decline. US governments have attempted to ensure that every region of the world maintains a balance of power that ultimately favors American interests. This means that Washington could afford to lose weight in relative terms so long as smaller players in each region allied with America against the rising regional power—whether that regional power was China, Russia, or Iran.
The secret sauce of this strategy was the way Washington allowed its allies to share in the benefits of American hegemony. Europeans, for example, were allowed to benefit from US military spending and the security is provided without having to come up with equivalent spending on their own. Today, however, under the slogan “America First,” Trump is ripping up that playbook—and the net result could be that many American allies are forced to develop relations with regional challengers to hedge against their abandonment by Washington.
As a result, the US might well end up poorer, less influential, and less secure. The risk is not so much that the US incurs losses in individual diplomatic conflicts or isolated trade disputes. However, if America’s allies are forced into new alliances with America’s foes, the new system that emerges will be less conducive to America’s interests.
Trump’s proposals on trade policy and his Republicans tax plan has set the US on a collision course. Were Trump to implement a tariff on cars produced in Mexico, it would not only attract the wrath of Mexico—the German government could also be forced to act, given its car producers’ reliance on plants in Mexico.
Congressman Paul Ryan’s plan for a corporate tax with border tax adjustment would have effectively put a tariff on imports into the US from everywhere in the world, and would have created the equivalent of an export subsidy for everything produced in the US.
Read more: Donald Trump's America First backlash: How Europe could be the unexpected beneficiary of America’s fall from global grace — Quartz
1/15/18
America Last? EU says Trump is losing on trade
The European Union’s trade tsar has no idea what Donald Trump will tell
his audience at the World Economic Forum in Davos next week, but she is
clear what the EU’s message to the U.S. president will be.
America is shooting itself in the foot by withdrawing from global leadership on trade, Cecilia Malmstrom, the 49-year-old Swede who has served as Europe’s trade commissioner for the past three years, told Reuters.
Under Malmstrom’s direction, the EU has juggled a dizzying array of trade talks over the past year. In July it clinched a preliminary deal with Japan. And early this year it hopes to seal agreements with Mexico and the Latin American Mercosur bloc
.
The retreat of the United States under Trump has played a big role in this push, Malmstrom says. Countries around the world are desperate for new trading partners, and the EU, confident again after years of economic crisis and Britain’s vote in 2016 to leave the bloc, has eagerly filled the gap.
Read more: America Last? EU says Trump is losing on trade
America is shooting itself in the foot by withdrawing from global leadership on trade, Cecilia Malmstrom, the 49-year-old Swede who has served as Europe’s trade commissioner for the past three years, told Reuters.
Under Malmstrom’s direction, the EU has juggled a dizzying array of trade talks over the past year. In July it clinched a preliminary deal with Japan. And early this year it hopes to seal agreements with Mexico and the Latin American Mercosur bloc
.
The retreat of the United States under Trump has played a big role in this push, Malmstrom says. Countries around the world are desperate for new trading partners, and the EU, confident again after years of economic crisis and Britain’s vote in 2016 to leave the bloc, has eagerly filled the gap.
Read more: America Last? EU says Trump is losing on trade
11/8/17
Europe in the Time of Trump by Guy Verhofstadt
The transatlantic alliance – which for decades has underpinned global
stability, fortified democracy, and safeguarded the West as we know it –
is under severe strain, and risks terminal decline. US President Donald
Trump – who has repeatedly challenged America’s traditional alliances,
including by attacking NATO – undoubtedly bears much responsibility for
this deterioration. But Europe, through its inaction, has also
contributed to this state of affairs – and now it must contribute to
fixing it.
European leaders
agree that the eurozone’s current institutional setup is flawed, and
they know what must be done. But they remain plagued by inertia,
immobilized by conservatism, and preoccupied by domestic politics, with
many leaders allowing themselves to be taken hostage by populist
Euroskepticism. As a result, they have failed to take the steps required
to ensure the EU’s long-term stability, including a complete banking
union to backstop Europe’s finances and a genuine system of EU-wide
economic governance.
The absence of a cogent US president who is willing and able to encourage the EU to make further progress toward integration does not help matters. But European leaders must take responsibility for their own recalcitrance – and take action to save the Union.
The good news is that popular support for the EU has improved markedly since the United Kingdom’s Brexit vote in June 2016, creating a window of opportunity to deliver meaningful reform. But the window will not stay open for long. And, so far, EU leaders have failed to leverage renewed support for the European project to argue for change.
Click here to read the complete report: Europe in the Time of Trump by Guy Verhofstadt - Project Syndicate
The West’s malaise
is, no doubt, a result of the ongoing and unresolved economic-governance
challenges created by globalization. These challenges are particularly
acute in the European Union, where policy paralysis has prevented
governments from fully implementing the reforms needed to overcome the
financial crisis that began a decade ago.
The absence of a cogent US president who is willing and able to encourage the EU to make further progress toward integration does not help matters. But European leaders must take responsibility for their own recalcitrance – and take action to save the Union.
The good news is that popular support for the EU has improved markedly since the United Kingdom’s Brexit vote in June 2016, creating a window of opportunity to deliver meaningful reform. But the window will not stay open for long. And, so far, EU leaders have failed to leverage renewed support for the European project to argue for change.
Click here to read the complete report: Europe in the Time of Trump by Guy Verhofstadt - Project Syndicate
10/23/17
NAFTA: Trump’s zero-sum game has likely doomed NAFTA - by Lawrence Herman
ti's interesting that commentators are now talking about the need for a Plan B (or C or D) for Canada, when it should have been clear that these talks were on a perilous slope from the outset.
While policy wonks were once full of naive optimism about modernizing the North American free-trade agreement, a cold shower of realism would have doused that rosy glow. The problem is these negotiations were never born of common objectives among like-minded governments. We're in these talks because of a diktat from one source – U.S. President Donald Trump.
After repeatedly condemning NAFTA as a
"disaster" and the "worst trade agreement ever," Mr. Trump wasn't going
to go gentle into that good night. He was obviously going to follow
through with aggressively one-sided demands to Canada and Mexico – and
that's what they are – or else.
U.S.
presidents set the tone for their administrations in inaugural
addresses to the country and the world at large. Remember Franklin
Roosevelt and "We've nothing to fear but fear itself," or John F.
Kennedy's "Ask not what your country can do for you …"
In
the case of Mr. Trump, it was a bombastic and inward-looking
declaration that it would be "America first and only America first"
during his term of office.
The U.S.
approach to these negotiations is unprecedented, the opposite of
countries sitting at the table to reach a balanced and mutually
agreeable outcome. Mr. Trump will have none of that; to the contrary,
it's all about a zero-sum, take-no-hostages game used by him in putting
together real estate deals.
Faced
with this reality, comments about the need for alternative plans for
Canada are part of a deeper concern over an uncertain trade and
political relationship with the United States.
Read more: Trump’s zero-sum game has likely doomed NAFTA - The Globe and Mail
10/16/17
USA: Opinion: America First. America Alone - by Carsten von Nahmen
Donald Trump's decision to decertify the Iran nuclear deal is a slap in
the face for America's allies. The president risks isolating the US for
the sake of his own fans — and his own ego, writes DW's Carsten von
Nahmen.
The protector of Americans against the big, bad world: that's how the president sees himself. And also how many of his supporters view him, and precisely why they voted for him. It was these supporters, more than anyone else, that Trump's speech was aimed at on Friday. It doesn't matter what the others think. America First. America Alone.
Throughout the 2016 election campaign, Trump described the 2015 nuclear deal that his predecessor Barack Obama had reached with Iran alongside European, Chinese and Russian partners as a mistake and the "worst deal ever." This campaign cry has followed him to this day, as has his promise to end the deal as president.
And still. Trump didn't go that far on Friday. Not yet. His most important foreign policy and security advisers, among them Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, had strongly advised Trump against such a step, as Iran's nuclear armament ambitions could not be controlled at all without the deal.
Strictly speaking, there is no reason to terminate the deal. The Iranian government is meeting the obligations that the treaty imposed upon it. European allies, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and even Trump's generals have confirmed this.
And so the president pulled an old trick out of the bag, one that he had so gladly used in his previous life as a businessman and reality TV star. He simply redefined the rules of the game, according to his own terms. The determining factor is not whether Iran is meeting the conditions of the nuclear deal, but whether Iran is living up to the "spirit" of the deal. And if it is, Trump said, it's also whether the Iranian government behaves itself otherwise.
All those who, perhaps, at the beginning of Trump's time in office had hoped that the populist would grow into his office and take his responsibility for his country and the world seriously are now disappointed.
Sad!
Read more: USA-Opinion: America First. America Alone. | Opinion | DW | 14.10.2017
The protector of Americans against the big, bad world: that's how the president sees himself. And also how many of his supporters view him, and precisely why they voted for him. It was these supporters, more than anyone else, that Trump's speech was aimed at on Friday. It doesn't matter what the others think. America First. America Alone.
Throughout the 2016 election campaign, Trump described the 2015 nuclear deal that his predecessor Barack Obama had reached with Iran alongside European, Chinese and Russian partners as a mistake and the "worst deal ever." This campaign cry has followed him to this day, as has his promise to end the deal as president.
And still. Trump didn't go that far on Friday. Not yet. His most important foreign policy and security advisers, among them Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, had strongly advised Trump against such a step, as Iran's nuclear armament ambitions could not be controlled at all without the deal.
Strictly speaking, there is no reason to terminate the deal. The Iranian government is meeting the obligations that the treaty imposed upon it. European allies, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and even Trump's generals have confirmed this.
And so the president pulled an old trick out of the bag, one that he had so gladly used in his previous life as a businessman and reality TV star. He simply redefined the rules of the game, according to his own terms. The determining factor is not whether Iran is meeting the conditions of the nuclear deal, but whether Iran is living up to the "spirit" of the deal. And if it is, Trump said, it's also whether the Iranian government behaves itself otherwise.
All those who, perhaps, at the beginning of Trump's time in office had hoped that the populist would grow into his office and take his responsibility for his country and the world seriously are now disappointed.
Sad!
Read more: USA-Opinion: America First. America Alone. | Opinion | DW | 14.10.2017
4/22/17
Earth Day: April 22: The G20’s Time for Climate Leadership, as Trump Adm. ready to block project - by Teresa Ribera
 |
| Global Warming Disaster:The question is not if but when |
But at Merkel and Trump’s first in-person meeting, no substantive statements were issued, and their body language made the prospect of future dialogue appear dim. Trump’s slogan “America first” seems to mean “America alone.”
By reversing his predecessor’s policies to reduce CO2 emissions, Trump is rolling back the new model of cooperative global governance embodied in the 2015 Paris climate agreement. The countries that signed on to that accord committed themselves to sharing the risks and benefits of a global economic and technological transformation.
Trump’s climate-change policy does not bode well for US citizens – many of whom are now mobilizing resistance to his administration – or the world. But the rest of the world will still develop low-carbon, resilient systems. Private- and public-sector players across the developed and developing worlds are making the coming economic shift all but inevitable, and their agendas will not change simply because the US has a capricious new administration. China, India, the European Union, and many African and Latin American countries are still adopting clean-energy systems.
As long as this is the case, businesses, local governments, and other stakeholders will continue to pursue low-carbon strategies. To be sure, Trump’s policies might introduce new dangers and costs, domestically and worldwide; but he will not succeed in prolonging the fossil-fuel era.
Still, an effective US exit from the Paris agreement is a menacing development. The absence of such an important player from the fight against climate change could undermine new forms of multilateralism, even if it reinvigorates climate activism as global public opinion turns against the US.
More immediately, the Trump administration has introduced significant financial risks that could impede efforts to address climate change. Trump’s proposed budget would place restrictions on federal funding for clean-energy development and climate research. Likewise, his recent executive orders will minimize the financial costs of US businesses’ carbon footprint, by changing how the “social cost of carbon” is calculated. And his administration has already insisted that language about climate change be omitted from a joint statement issued by G20 finance ministers.
These are all unwise decisions that pose serious risks to the US economy, and to global stability, as United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres recently pointed out. The US financial system plays a leading role in the world economy, and Trump wants to take us all back to a time when investors and the general public did not account for climate-change risks when making financial decisions.
Since 2008, the regulatory approach taken by the US and the G20 has been geared toward increasing transparency and improving our understanding of possible systemic risks to the global financial system, not least those associated with climate change and fossil-fuel dependency. Developing more stringent transparency rules and better risk-assessment tools has been a top priority for the financial community itself. Implementing these new rules and tools can accelerate the overall trend in divestment from fossil fuels, ensure a smooth transition to a more resilient, clean-energy economy, and provide confidence and clarity for long-term investors.
Given the heightened financial risks associated with climate change, resisting Trump’s executive order to roll back Wall Street transparency regulations should be a top priority. The fact that Warren Buffet and the asset-management firm Black Rock have warned about the investment risks of climate change suggests that the battle is not yet lost.
Creating the G20 was a good idea. Now, it must confront its biggest challenge. It is up to Merkel and other G20 leaders to overcome US (and Saudi) resistance and stay the course on climate action. They can count as allies some of the world’s large institutional investors, who seem to agree on the need for a transitional framework of self-regulation. It is incumbent upon other world leaders to devise a coherent response to Trump, and to continue establishing a new development paradigm that is compatible across different financial systems.
At the same time, the EU – which is celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome this year – now has a chance to think about the future that it wants to build. These are difficult times, to be sure; but we can still decide what kind of world we want to live in.
Note EU-Digest: the EU needs to take its own independent and united position on this issue. Compromise should not be part of the equation. In addition, it has become extremely difficult for any country to negotiate with the Trump Administration on just about any issue, given they change their position more often than the Kama Sutra.
Read more: The G20’s Time for Climate Leadership by Teresa Ribera - Project Syndicate
3/18/17
EU - China Relations: America First' Trump Play Opens Door for EU-China Trade Detente - by V
Donald Trump is forcing the European Union and China to decide how
willing they are to set aside trade tensions that go back decades.As the U.S. president pushes his mantra of “America First,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Chinese President Xi Jinping are taking almost every opportunity to affirm their commitment to free trade. Just last week, they agreed on a phone call “to continue their trusting cooperation” on open markets.
The challenge, say trade officials, will be using those warm words to overcome knotty issues that have soured China-EU relations for years. Just over a decade ago, the so-called Bra Wars highlighted European angst about cheap Chinese textiles undercutting domestic manufacturers, and tensions continue to simmer over solar power, steel and even bicycles. Meanwhile, populist groups like Marine Le Pen’s National Front in France are running for election on an anti-free trade ticket.
“There are still many obstacles to cooperation,” said Wang Yiwei, a professor of International Relations at Renmin University in Beijing and a former Chinese trade official in Europe. “We don’t look to Europe to balance the United States, but we can hope that Europe might help with the kind of American unilateralism or its tendency to do whatever it pleases that we’ve seen in the past.”
Read more: 'America First' Trump Play Opens Door for EU-China Trade Detente - Bloomberg
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