Trump has ripped up or tried to cancel deals he made in his first term. Why any nation would bother to negotiate with the US right now is beyond me. Nothing can be trusted from this administration or any one to come
Why any nation would bother to negotiate with the US right now is beyond me
It’s because they don’t really have a choice. If it were say, Australia, that had gone off the rails, they could just be ignored. But, the US is still such a central part of the world’s economy, and there are so many important companies based out of the US, that it’s not possible just to pull the plug. In addition, if countries didn’t negotiate with Trump he might see it as a slight and send in the navy to interdict “drug boats” or something.
This also makes things look like they’re better than they are. People see trade deals being negotiated and think "well, if that’s happening, then things aren’t that far gone. The reality is that countries used to negotiate trade deals with the US because, even when they felt they were being pressured to cave to US demands, they could at least count on the US to more-or-less honour the terms of the deal when it was done. I think countries are now dealing with the US because they have to, but they’re really just going through the motions, not expecting that the result will actually be a binding agreement.
About nations not having a choice there is truth to that but I want to focus on something nations can do to. Study in particular which companies support Trump the most and work to find replacements for those. For example the fossil fuel industry is a significant backer of Trump and Republicans. This means countries who are rightfully upset about Trump and buy fossil fuels from the US should make switching to renewable energy a huge priority maybe even do it at cost or subsidize the transition. This means fossil fuel companies will have less money and less to give to Republicans.
Also for people who live in blue states contact your state politicians and demand a faster transition to renewables too.
Trump has ripped up or tried to cancel deals he made in his first term. Why any nation would bother to negotiate with the US right now is beyond me. Nothing can be trusted from this administration or any one to come
It’s because they don’t really have a choice. If it were say, Australia, that had gone off the rails, they could just be ignored. But, the US is still such a central part of the world’s economy, and there are so many important companies based out of the US, that it’s not possible just to pull the plug. In addition, if countries didn’t negotiate with Trump he might see it as a slight and send in the navy to interdict “drug boats” or something.
This also makes things look like they’re better than they are. People see trade deals being negotiated and think "well, if that’s happening, then things aren’t that far gone. The reality is that countries used to negotiate trade deals with the US because, even when they felt they were being pressured to cave to US demands, they could at least count on the US to more-or-less honour the terms of the deal when it was done. I think countries are now dealing with the US because they have to, but they’re really just going through the motions, not expecting that the result will actually be a binding agreement.
About nations not having a choice there is truth to that but I want to focus on something nations can do to. Study in particular which companies support Trump the most and work to find replacements for those. For example the fossil fuel industry is a significant backer of Trump and Republicans. This means countries who are rightfully upset about Trump and buy fossil fuels from the US should make switching to renewable energy a huge priority maybe even do it at cost or subsidize the transition. This means fossil fuel companies will have less money and less to give to Republicans.
Also for people who live in blue states contact your state politicians and demand a faster transition to renewables too.