Trump’s America Would Concede Its Power to Russia and China - Expert

If Donald Trump takes office in January as the next president of the United States, he would inflict “structural damage” to the western alliance and the image of Washington in Europe, clearing the stage on the international arena for rising powers like China and Russia, US media assert.

Trump wouldn’t “make America great again” once he becomes president, Financial Times foreign affairs commentator Gideon Rachman concluded after comprehensively analyzing the GOP’s frontrunner’s campaign statements.

The billionaire’s stance on international foreign affairs make it clear that he would like the US to distance itself from the role of “global policeman,” Rachman said.

At the same time, the global security system rests on US-led alliances and is maintained with “red lines,” a row of political, diplomatic, economic and ideological boundaries Washington created to regulate international affairs, he explained.

In the view of the columnist, the trade protectionism proposed by Trump would lead to recession of the world’s economies and undermine global trade. Trump’s projective international policies regarding three crucial regions for America would have unexpected consequences.

In Asia, the ex-mogul aims to drastically change the US take on China, Rachman asserted. It is now based on openness in economic collaboration with Beijing on the one hand, and on suppressing growing Chinese influence through a system of Washington-led regional alliances on the other, the columnist explained. Trump would rather break it all down by proposing floating tariffs for Chinese products stateside, and reassessing relations with Japan and South Korea, America’s closest allies in the region.

“In reality, Mr Trump’s promised diplomatic revolution in Asia would have malign consequences that would swiftly be felt back home,” Rachman said, specifying that by inciting trade war with China and abandoning its long-time allies in the region, the US would have to eventually deal with a larger conflict. By that Rachman means a possible standoff over the South China Sea.

Trump would also reconsider American policies in Europe that were shaped in the post-World War II period, when Washington vowed to be a security guarantor to the Old World. To realize those policies into life, the concepts of the European Union and NATO were introduced in the mid-20th century. But Trump seems to be willing to blow those pillars apart, Rachman said, as he welcomes the possible Brexit and claims that Washington’s responsibilities before NATO are contrary to America’s interests.

Rachman suggested that the billionaire could bring America back on the path of isolationism that it walked in 1930’s.

Washington’s influence in the Middle East could also be weakened if Trump’s idea of restricting all Muslims from entering the US was put into effect.

The billionaire aims to make America less predictable in attempt to create benefits for business, but he fails to assess that such an approach could turn out to be a catastrophe for international policies. The US’ denial to comply with its obligations on the international stage would create a vacuum that would be filled in by Russia and China.