Soft power is out.Hard power is in.
Since returning to the White House, President Trump has demonstrated that he prefers to bludgeon, not bargain, his way to foreign policy goals.With counterparts from Asia, the Middle East and North and South America, Mr.Trump has shown a willingness to use American power in a way that most of his modern predecessors have not.
His favorite blunt instrument is not military force but economic coercion, like the tariffs he ordered on Saturday on goods from Canada, Mexico and China.The tariffs, set to take effect Tuesday, amount to a declaration of economic war against America’s three largest trading partners, which have threatened to retaliate in a tit for tat that could escalate beyond any such conflict in generations.Mr.
Trump’s decision to follow through on his tariff threat raises the stakes in his hard-edged America First approach to the rest of the world, with potentially profound consequences.If he makes the targeted countries back down quickly in response to his demand to do more to stop drug trafficking, Mr.Trump will take it as a validation of his strategy.
If not, and the tariffs take force and remain in place for a prolonged period, American consumers could pay a price through higher costs on many goods.Even as he opts for strong-arm tactics, Mr.Trump is dispensing with other traditional tools of American foreign policy.
He has suspended much of the international aid provided by the United States and may try to dismantle the U.S.Agency for International Development, whose website went offline on Saturday.
Such aid, while a tiny fraction of the overall federal budget, has for generations been seen as a way to build good will and influence around the world.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times...