Do you feel like the United States is in a fishbowl and the other countries are watching us?
If so, I encourage you to read further to brush up on what’s happening in the U.S. and in other parts of the world!
President Trump was inaugurated on Jan. 20 to serve as our 47th president. Historically, President Trump has adopted an “America First” mindset. In this article, I want to break down his ideas to help explain what’s going on and see if the world thinks his ideas are a hit or a miss.
Foreign policy: in his independent era?
President Trump ordered the withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Climate Accord and the World Health Organization this past week. He also explained his goal of expanding the United States by retaking the Panama Canal, attempting to acquire Greenland, and suggesting Canada should become our 51st state.
Greenland was not willing to sell their land to the United States, nor was Canada interested in joining us. The United Nations isn’t thrilled with Trump’s decision to leave the Paris Climate Accord and World Health Organization, explaining that it will be harder to handle health and climate issues when unprepared.
On the flip side, supporters of the withdrawals say drawing out of these organizations aids in reducing financial commitments.
Economic Policy: Protectionist Perspective
Starting Saturday, President Trump has decided to instate high tariffs on Canada, China, and Mexico in hopes of empowering our domestic production and the imbalance of imports. So…what does that even mean?
To break it down, a tariff is a tax on a product that is coming into the U.S. Everything you’ve seen that says “made in China” will now have a tax on it, making it more expensive to buy. The purpose is to incentivize Americans to buy more “made in the United States” products.
This will balance out the typically superior intake of out-of-U.S. goods and encourage more purchases for American-owned companies and items because it will now be the cheaper option and more competitive in the market. This strategy is called protectionist because it protects home companies, fosters new jobs, and reduces trading imbalance. Wondering what other countries think about this?
Canada isn’t having it and will be petty back when this tariff is set in place. Europe is worried about how this Canada-U.S.-Mexico tariff situation might affect their already troubling European economy. There are also concerns about how this potential tariff war will affect the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, and some analysts think President Trump may use his tariffs as a bargaining chip for future deals.
Governmental Policy: ICE leads to international debate
Cracking down on immigration and border security is something President Trump promised and is delivering.
He has dispatched Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to comb through and pick out undocumented immigrants with criminal backgrounds for deportation. He spoke about potentially reopening Guantanamo Bay to house these 30,000 immigrants.
There’s intense international debate over human rights being violated, and many world leaders are concerned, given the history of detaining people at Guantanamo Bay. President Trump’s supporters, however, are glad that he plans on using the facility for detainment. They’re also happy he’s taking necessary measures to secure the borders.
Healthcare Policy: ICE isn’t The Only Thing Frozen
After reversing former President Biden’s executive orders, President Trump moved towards a federal funding freeze, which could impact crucial platforms for students, such as Medicaid and student financial aid. You may be wondering, what is a federal funding freeze?
It’s when the government stops the disbursement of federal funds to their programs. So, how does that affect Medicaid? It will stop the reimbursement and coverage from Medicaid to low-income families. President Trump’s goal with this, however, is to reduce government spending. How’s the world taking it?
Eastern Europe is worried about how the freeze will affect them, as the U.S. provides them with financial aid. Experts from other countries, such as China and Russia, have warned the U.S. of potential consequences and are keeping an eye out.
Supporters of the freeze say it can help the States be less dependent on the federal government and reduce government spending.
Hopefully, this article has shed some light on President Trump’s new policies and how the international communities have handled the new reforms. With most of these policies, we need to wait and see how situations unfold, whether the policies function in favor of President Trump or result in how the other nations have warned. Only time will tell.
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