Trump promotes the blunt force of treating allies and foreign enemies

Soft power is out. The hard power is in progress. Since his return to the White House, President Trump has shown that he prefers batons, and not negotiations, his way to foreign policy objectives.

With counterparts from Asia, the Middle East and North and South America, Trump has shown a desire to use American power in a way that most of his modern predecessors do not have it do. His favorite blunt instrument is not military force but economic coercion, such as the prices he ordered on the goods of Canada, Mexico and China on Saturday.

The prices, which should come into force on Tuesday, constitute a declaration of economic war against the three largest American trade partners, who threatened to retaliate in a TAT Tit which could degenerate beyond these generation conflicts. Trump’s decision to continue his pricing threat increases the challenges of his first approach to America lasts in the rest of the world, with potentially deep consequences.

If he quickly goes up the targeted countries in response to his request to do more to stop drug trafficking, Trump will take him as validation of his strategy. Otherwise, and the prices take their doors and remain in place for an extended period, American consumers could pay a price thanks to higher costs on many goods.

Even if he opts for strong arms tactics, Trump dispenses other traditional tools in American foreign policy. He suspended a large part of the international aid provided by the United States and could try to dismantle the American agency for international development, whose website was offline on Saturday. Such aid, while a tiny fraction of the global federal budget, was considered a means of building good will and influence in the world.