President-elect Donald Trump and international relations
Donald Trump, the elected 45th president of the United States of America, will be sworn in on January 20, 2017 amidst fears and uncertainty concerning relations among European nations, the US and the rest of the world.
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It was expected that the election of Donald Trump would present the European Union (EU), the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and the international community – with big problems.
Campaign promises that Donald Trump had made before his election, if translated into real actions, could lead to disastrous consequences, disorganised world trade, migration, globalisation, climate change decisions and positions already taken, break up the NATO as a collective security arrangement and possibly throw the US into the arms of the Russian Federation.
One of Donald Trump’s campaign promises is his warning to NATO member-states to pay up their dues to the organisation or he would say, “bye-bye to NATO” and “come-come to Russia”.
Donald Trump’s threat is premised upon the need for other member-countries of NATO to help US reduce its financial burden concerning NATO.
Another promise of President-elect Trump, is to say “no” to climate change because, in his view, it is a complete hoax. That means President Trump could pull the US out of all international agreements reached in decades of hard talks and compromise.
On globalisation, Donald Trump’s position is that America’s economy and Americans have not benefited much from it. America and Americans have been paying too high a price for globalisation.
He promised to impose high taxes on Chinese goods entering the American market to reduce US-Chinese trade deficit.
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The new America President plans to build a long wall across America’s border with Mexico and make the Mexicans pay for its construction. He had called the Mexicans rapists and drug traffickers. The objective is to prevent Mexicans from crossing the border into the US unlawfully.
He promised to revise the US trade agreement with Canada because it had not been beneficial to Americans.
Another promise of his is to send about 11 million illegal immigrants back to their various countries.
Outgoing US President Barack Obama had offered to grant American citizenship to such immigrants.
President-elect Trump also promised to help Israel remove its capital from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. That could bring the Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement to an end.
Such promises appear outrageous but President-elect Trump plans to ride on them to make the US great again.
It appears the new American president wants the US to withdraw into itself to make America as great as it was in the past.
European Union and NATO member-countries have been unsettled by what President-elect Trump has on his card and they have expressed their reservations.
In a joint letter to the 45th American President, the President of the EU Council, Donald Tusk, and President of the European Commission, Jean–Claude Juncker, have invited the new American president to Europe for a summit.
“It is most important than ever to strengthen the transatlantic relations. Only by cooperating closely can the EU and the US continue to make a difference where dealing with unprecedented challenges such as Da’esh (ISIS), the threat to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, climate change and migration,” the letter stated.
Donald Tusk, in a statement to the mass media, has said: “The event of the last months and days should be treated as a warning sign for all who believe in democracy.”
He added that no country could be great in isolation.
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Foreign Affairs Chief of the EU, Federica Mogherini, said: “EU-US ties are deeper than any change in politics.”
Secretary-General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, said: “It is important that the transatlantic bond remains strong. US leadership is as important as ever and vital to (NATO), the world’s biggest military alliance.”
British Prime Minister, Theresa May, has said that the United Kingdom and the US had “an enduring and special relationship based on the value of freedom, democracy and enterprise”.
“We are and will remain strong and close partners in trade, security and defence, “she added.
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President Francois Hollande of France has said that Donald Trump’s win “opens up a period of uncertainty that must be faced with lucidity and clarity”.
“Certain positions taken by Donald Trump during the American campaign must be confronted with the values and interests we share with the United State,” he further said.
President Hollande added: “What is at stake is peace, the fight against terrorism, the situation in the Middle East. It is economic relations and the preservation of the planet.”
Mrs Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, has said that Germany and the US were joined together by common values such as democracy, freedom, respect for the law and for human rights.
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She added: “Partnership with the USA remains a basic pillar of German foreign policy in order for us to meet the great challenges of our time: striving for economic and social wellbeing and for a forward-looking climate policy, the fight against terrorism, hunger and disease, engagement of peace in Germany, Europe and all over the word.”
The Secretary of State for the Vatican, Cardinal Pietro Paronini, has said: “There is need for everyone to work to change the global situation which is in a severe laceration and great conflict.”
President Xi Jinping of China told President-elect Trump in a congratulatory message that he hoped both China and the US would avoid “conflict and confrontation”; instead achieve cooperation and win-win relationship”.
On China-US trade relations, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Lu Kang, has said that any future dispute over trade could be settled in a responsible manner.
President Vladimir Putin of Russia welcomed the promise of Donald Trump to normalise relations with his country and added that the move would serve the interests of the peoples of Russia and the US.
Israeli Minister of Education, Naftali Bennett, a right wing politician, has said that the victory of Donald Trump would translate into the end of “the era of a Palestinian state in the Middle East”.
A spokesman for the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, said: “We will deal with any president elected by the American people on the principle of achieving permanent peace in the Middle East based on the two-nation solution on June 4, 1967 lines with east Jerusalem as its (Palestine’s) capital.”