This is what Donald Trump has done in nearly four years, and what he has not
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Washington — President Donald Trump made some of his flashiest 2016 campaign pledges in foreign policy areas, such as vowing to re-evaluate the US relationship with Nato, abandon a landmark nuclear deal with Iran and bring US troops back from “forever wars.”
The Republican president, a former businessperson from New York who boasts about his deal-making skills, has delivered on some of his pledges, while partially meeting a few others. Some he has so far completely failed to achieve.
If Trump is defeated in the November 3 election by Democratic rival Joe Biden, the new administration's hardest challenge will be to restore the global standing and trustworthiness of the US, analysts and former US and European officials say.
Biden, vice-president under President Barack Obama, will be taking over a scarred transatlantic relationship, deep antagonism with China and sanctions-dominated pressure campaigns against Iran, Syria and Venezuela.
Here is a look at some of the key policy priorities of the Trump administration and potential challenges for Biden:
China
A central theme in Trump's 2016 campaign was to accuse China of “ripping off” the US while vowing to seal a fair trade deal with Beijing that would help US businesses and create US jobs.
After almost two years of tit-for-tat trade war with the world’s second-largest economy, Trump has so far managed a stalled first phase of such an agreement.
Meanwhile, Washington and Beijing have slapped tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of each others’ goods and the global spread of the coronavirus from China has soured bilateral ties to their worst level in decades, raising fears of a new Cold War.
Washington has acted against Beijing on multiple fronts: it ended the special status of Hong Kong, sanctioned top officials over human rights abuses and sought to ban Chinese technology companies from operating in the US.
A Biden administration would have little option but to maintain the hard stance, analysts say, but would likely seek to dial down some rhetoric to create room for engagement.
Iran nuclear deal
In 2018, Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, saying he could strike a better one. He also launched a “maximum pressure” campaign to choke off Tehran’s sources of income.
Despite almost two years of sanctions on everything from oil revenue to minerals and Iran’s central bank, Washington has yet to force a change of behaviour by ...
The Republican president, a former businessperson from New York who boasts about his deal-making skills, has delivered on some of his pledges, while partially meeting a few others. Some he has so far completely failed to achieve.
If Trump is defeated in the November 3 election by Democratic rival Joe Biden, the new administration's hardest challenge will be to restore the global standing and trustworthiness of the US, analysts and former US and European officials say.
Biden, vice-president under President Barack Obama, will be taking over a scarred transatlantic relationship, deep antagonism with China and sanctions-dominated pressure campaigns against Iran, Syria and Venezuela.
Here is a look at some of the key policy priorities of the Trump administration and potential challenges for Biden:
China
A central theme in Trump's 2016 campaign was to accuse China of “ripping off” the US while vowing to seal a fair trade deal with Beijing that would help US businesses and create US jobs.
After almost two years of tit-for-tat trade war with the world’s second-largest economy, Trump has so far managed a stalled first phase of such an agreement.
Meanwhile, Washington and Beijing have slapped tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of each others’ goods and the global spread of the coronavirus from China has soured bilateral ties to their worst level in decades, raising fears of a new Cold War.
Washington has acted against Beijing on multiple fronts: it ended the special status of Hong Kong, sanctioned top officials over human rights abuses and sought to ban Chinese technology companies from operating in the US.
A Biden administration would have little option but to maintain the hard stance, analysts say, but would likely seek to dial down some rhetoric to create room for engagement.
Iran nuclear deal
In 2018, Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, saying he could strike a better one. He also launched a “maximum pressure” campaign to choke off Tehran’s sources of income.
Despite almost two years of sanctions on everything from oil revenue to minerals and Iran’s central bank, Washington has yet to force a change of behaviour by ...
