The phenomenal comeback of Donald Trump in the US presidential election has stunned the world, already bracing for his return. This time he would emerge as a more powerful president than before due to his unprecedented mandate in the election. Trump’s re-election will have global implications due to the US influence over the whole world.
Trump’s Return to Power: A Question Mark Over US Foreign Policy
The Geopolitical Significance of South Asia and China Rivalry
In his previous term, his unilateralist “America First” approach led to US isolation and impinged the country’s international standing as the sole superpower of the world. It was due to his policies that the United States had to retrench from its global character. South Asia and the Middle East are amongst the most significant regions in the world due to their geopolitical significance. The presence of the four nuclear powers, Russia, China, Pakistan, and India – in South Asia makes it the most significant region in the whole world. The trade war between the United States and China peaked during Donald Trump’s previous term. The bipartisan consensus in the US views China as the country’s strategic rival on the global stage.
In the previous term, President Trump imposed trade tariffs on China, leading to a trade war between the two sides. He would escalate this aggressive trade war with China. During his recent election campaign, he pledged to impose a 60 percent trade levy on all Chinese imports and end the most favored nation status of the latter. However, given his business instinct, it is highly unlikely that he would impose such tariffs on Chinese imports because it would result in increasing inflation. On the other hand, Trump would avoid any military conflict with China over the Taiwan issue. He had always been a critic of Taiwan and had held that the latter should pay the United States for defending it.
The United States’ relations with China also dictate its relations with India and Pakistan. Shuja Nawaz, a senior political and strategic analyst, holds that Pakistan might be on top of the positive priority list of the US under the Trump administration. He further stated, “He also might further subscribe to the Biden administration view that Pakistan is now in the Chinese lap. Pakistan will need to show that it can improve its economy to garner US support via the International Financial Institutions like the IMF, World Bank, and ADB.”
US perception of Pakistan remains similar under the Republican and Democrat governments due to their adverse stance towards China. Pakistan’s difficulties are thought to have further increased during the Trump administration due to the former’s cementing ties with Russia. Pakistan is also aspiring to gain BRICS membership, which would increase its economic travails and its relations with the Trump administration and the Western world would also sever due to these aspirations.
On the other hand, India would remain the closest South Asian ally of the United States under the Trump administration due to its rivalry and competition with China. What’s positive about Trump’s re-election to the world could be peace between Russia and Ukraine. Trump’s “America First” approach seeks the withdrawal of the United States from all foreign conflicts. On multiple occasions, President-elect Donald Trump has already demonstrated his admiration for Russian President Putin. Earlier this year, Trump had stated that he could resolve the Russia-Ukraine conflict within a day. Pessimism among the Ukrainians has also increased due to the re-election of President-elect Donald Trump.
Middle East and Global Trade: The Trump Administration’s Impact
President-elect Donald Trump’s re-election is unlikely to significantly alter the trajectory of the people of the Middle East, especially the Palestinians. Many inside and outside the United States hate the Biden administration for its support of Israeli genocide in Gaza and the Middle East. Both political parties in the United States share an identical approach towards both Israel and the Muslim world, a stance likely to be continued under Trump’s policies. President-elect Donald Trump would also have tough policies towards Iran and its Middle Eastern proxies. However, overall US involvement in global conflicts would decrease under his administration. Moreover, third-world countries would continue to suffer under the Trump administration. President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs on imports from all countries would increase global inflation and the world would sink into a new global trade war between the economic and military giants of the world.
Abbas Hashemite – is a political observer and research analyst for regional and global geopolitical issues. He is currently working as an independent researcher and journalist, exclusively for “New Eastern Outlook”
