It has only been a little over a week since Trump took office and he has spent a large portion of that short span belligerently antagonizing the rest of the world – the “Art of the Deal” manifest. From threatening to take Greenland and the Panama Canal by military force, to imposing tariffs on Colombia for refusing deportation flights, it seems that only those who have little to give have been spared of threats.
Trump says that he’s “serious as a heart attack” when he promises to impose tariffs on everyone, including a 25% tariff on Canadian and Mexican imports. When he backtracked on tariffs on Colombian imports, he revealed what most already thought: his tariff threats are mostly a negotiation tactic.
The fact that he has stated that he might eliminate the federal income tax and convert the US fiscal structure into a tariff-based system lends credence to the thought that perhaps the ultimate plan is to throttle tariffs according to the degree to which a given nation cooperates with Trump’s demands.
Surely, the foreign relations policy makers of other countries understand that Trump’s threats are largely empty posturing caused by a misguided understanding of America’s international relationships. Ever since he stepped foot on the political stage, he has been accusing the rest of the world, most harshly of Europe and NATO, of taking advantage of America’s naivety and generosity.
Contrary to Trump’s claims, we should not pretend that we have been exploited by the rest of the world. The US, with its unprecedented hard and soft powers has often gotten the world to bend to its will. In many cases, the US is able to blatantly dictate to other governments exactly what they are going to do, even when it’s unclear whether it is in their best interest apart from refraining from destabilizing ties with the US. A recent example is how much of the world joined the US in sending aid to Ukraine and sanctioning Russia, often by nations who have no dog in the fight.
If putting “America First” is truly the goal, then one must remember that America’s international dominance (and the many benefits that brings to Americans) is largely predicated on a strong network of global alliances. Our allies must see the US as a reliable partner, not as a capricious overlord. If our allies start to think of the US as unpredictable and unreliable, it makes countries like China and Russia look much more attractive.
It is well within the realm of possibility that Trump’s childish tactics could alienate some of our most important allies, causing them to form economic and perhaps even military partnerships with our rivals.
According to the former Chilean ambassador to China, Jorge Heine, “the message is that it’s not a good idea to be very closely interlinked with the United States, because you might pay a heavy price[…]And as a result of that, China’s prospects for stronger ties have been enhanced.”
China has been rapidly building relationships with Latin American countries with projects like the Belt and Road Initiative, funding infrastructure projects across Central and South America. According to the World Economic Forum, Chinese-Latin American trade could reach up to $700 billion by 2035.
While Trump wastes time threatening Latin American countries, China is actively giving them an economically beneficial alternative. When you’re given access to 1.4 billion Chinese consumers, American sanctions and tariffs lose much of their bite.
Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, and Argentina have increased military cooperation with China by purchasing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of military equipment and, in the Caribbean, Cuba has been enhancing its intelligence ties with Beijing – just a stone’s throw away from the US. While Trump threatens to take the Panama Canal by force, China is working to create defense treaties in our backyard.
Trump’s “negotiation tactics” are not helping America. Apart from increasing the prices that we have to pay for cars and food, all of these military and economic threats work to alienate our allies and push them closer to working with China, whose economic power rivals our own and whose interests do not align with ours.
Trump is single-mindedly looking for isolated wins like Colombia’s concession, while paying no mind to how his “strong man” strategy is affecting our general ability to engage in mutually beneficial relationships with other nations. Truly putting “America first” necessarily means preserving the benefits of international cooperation.
Rafael Perez is a columnist for the Southern California News Group.