Latest news with #foreign policy


Al Jazeera
4 days ago
- Business
- Al Jazeera
US losing ground to China due to Trump's policies, Democrats warn
The United States is losing strategic ground to China due to US President Donald Trump's withdrawal from the global stage and transactional approach to foreign policy, a Democrat-authored report has warned. Surveying Trump's first six months in office, the report warns that his tenure has 'significantly undermined' Washington's ability to compete with China. The report highlights staff reductions at the US Department of State and the 'chaotic gutting' of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the US Agency for Global Media – which oversees Voice of America and Radio Free Asia – as moves that have weakened US power and influence. The report, released on Monday by Democratic members of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, describes China as a 'strategic challenge distinct from any in our nation's history' with a 'long-term strategy to unseat the United States as the world's leading superpower'. 'While President Trump retreats from every corner of the world – attacking allies, slashing America's diplomatic tools and embracing adversaries – China is building influence, expanding relationships and reshaping the global order to its advantage,' US Senator Jeanne Shaheen said in a statement. According to the report, China has moved to fill the void created by Trump's withdrawal from global initiatives such as the World Health Organization and the Paris Climate Agreement by boosting funding overseas and increasing its diplomatic footprint. Trump's tariff war against US trade partners has also undercut 'alliances and economic partnerships', according to the report, pushing even close US allies in the direction of China. The warning from Democrats, who hold a minority of seats in both Congressional houses, dovetails with Tuesday's release of an opinion survey pointing to a global shift in attitudes in favour of China. Attitudes towards China have improved in 15 out of 25 countries, including Mexico, South Africa, Turkiye, Kenya and Indonesia, compared with last year, the nonpartisan US-based Pew Research Center said. While overall global perception of China remains largely negative – with a median 54 percent of respondents reporting an unfavourable perception – the country is now seen as the world's top economic power with a slight edge over the US, according to Pew. The survey found that 41 percent of respondents viewed China as the world's 'top economy' in 2025, compared with 39 percent for the US. Some of the sharpest shifts in perception were seen in 10 high-income countries – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Across this group, only 35 percent of respondents held a favourable view of the US, down from 51 percent in 2024, according to Pew, with double-digit drops in sentiment recorded in key Asia Pacific allies South Korea, Japan and Australia. China received a bump in approval across the 10 high-income countries, rising from 23 percent favourability in 2024 to 32 percent in 2025. Confidence in the US president across high-income countries fell from 53 percent in 2024, when US President Joe Biden was in office, to 22 percent following Trump's return to the White House, according to Pew. The US president's approval rating is now slightly lower than that of Chinese President Xi Jinping, who saw a slight uptick in approval from 17 percent in 2024 to 24 percent in 2025. Trump's trade war has engendered 'much deeper scepticism and distrust of the United States across Asia today', said Ian Chong, an associate professor of political science at the National University of Singapore. 'For some, cooperation with [China] appears to be an attractive alternative,' Chong told Al Jazeera. 'However, the lack of strong responses to the US tariffs also reflect a reality where economies in the region and beyond realise that they also cannot do without economic cooperation with the United States, however much they may dislike it.' William Yang, a senior analyst for Northeast Asia at the Brussels-based Crisis Group think tank, said China is increasingly seen as a more reliable business partner amid the uncertainty emanating from the US. 'As countries grapple with the uncertainties brought by the Trump administration, a growing number of them, including close US allies in the Indo-Pacific region, are seeking to stabilise their relationship with China by increasing high-level bilateral exchanges,' Yang told Al Jazeera. Leaders of a host of US allies have visited China since Trump took office, including Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, both of whom met Chinese President Xi Jinping this week in Beijing. Earlier this year, Xi also received the prime ministers of Singapore, New Zealand and Spain, as well as the president of Brazil. 'There are still fundamental concerns about certain Chinese practices, especially in the security sector, but in order to ensure they have more bandwidth to cope with the added uncertainties created by the Trump administration, these countries see the need to stabilise their relationship with China,' Yang said. 'That, in turn, might result in a slight improvement of views on China.'


CBC
7 days ago
- Business
- CBC
Trump pivots almost '180 degrees' on Ukraine after Putin 'embarrassed him': Bremmer
As U.S. President Donald Trump threatens Russia with 100 per cent secondary tariffs and says the U.S. will allow European allies to buy Patriot missile defence systems for Ukraine, Eurasia Group president Ian Bremmer argues Trump has changed his stance on the war more than any other aspect of his foreign policy.


Al Jazeera
11-07-2025
- Business
- Al Jazeera
Trump's tariff threat to Brazil is a gift to Lula
In a provocative move that fuses foreign policy with ideological allegiance, United States President Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 50 percent tariff on all Brazilian exports, effective August 1, 2025. The announcement came in a letter posted on social media, in which Trump explicitly linked the proposed tariffs to two ongoing domestic issues in Brazil: the judicial proceedings against far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro – whom Trump described as the victim of a political 'witch-hunt' – and recent rulings by the Brazilian Supreme Court against US-based social media companies, including former Trump ally Elon Musk's X. By doing so, Trump has escalated a trade dispute into a direct attempt to influence Brazil's internal affairs – using economic pressure to serve political ends and undermining the country's sovereignty in the process. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio 'Lula' da Silva responded swiftly and unequivocally: 'Brazil is a sovereign nation with independent institutions and will not accept any form of tutelage,' he declared, adding that Brazil's judiciary is autonomous and not subject to interference or threat. Under Brazilian law, digital platforms are obligated to monitor and remove content that incites violence or undermines democratic institutions, and they may be held legally accountable when they fail to do so. While a 50 percent tariff on Brazilian exports might appear economically devastating, it could in fact become a strategic turning point – and even a blessing in disguise. Brazil has both the resilience and the diplomatic tools to weather this storm and emerge stronger. The United States is one of Brazil's largest trading partners, typically ranking second after China – or third if the European Union is considered as a single bloc. Brazilian exports to the US include industrial goods such as Embraer aircraft, iron and steel, crude oil, coffee and semiprecious stones, alongside agricultural products like beef, orange juice, eggs and tobacco. In return, Brazil imports large quantities of US-manufactured goods, including machinery, electronics, medical equipment, chemicals and refined petroleum. Notably, the US has maintained a trade surplus with Brazil for the past five years. Should Washington proceed with the 50 percent tariffs, Brasília has several retaliatory options under its Economic Reciprocity Law. These include raising import tariffs on US goods, suspending clauses in bilateral trade agreements, and – in exceptional cases such as this – withholding recognition of US patents or suspending royalty payments to American companies. The impact on US consumers could be immediate and tangible, with breakfast staples like coffee, eggs and orange juice spiking in price. Brazil is not without friends or alternatives. The country has already been deepening ties with fellow BRICS members (China, India, Russia, South Africa) and newer partners in the bloc. This dispute only strengthens the case for accelerating such integration. Diversifying export markets and embracing South-South cooperation isn't just ideological; it's economically pragmatic. Closer to home, the tension presents an opportunity to reinvigorate South American integration. The long-held regional dream of enhanced collaboration – from trade to infrastructure – could gain new momentum as Brazil reassesses its global alignments. This realignment could breathe life into stalled Mercosur bloc initiatives and reduce dependence on an increasingly erratic relationship with the US. Ironically, Trump's aggressive move may weaken his ideological allies in Brazil. While Bolsonaro supporters (including members of his family) have praised the US president's intervention, they may be missing its broader political consequences. Trump's past influence abroad has often backfired, with right-wing candidates in countries like Canada and Australia paying the price. A similar outcome in Brazil is not unthinkable. Lula, who has consistently positioned himself as a pragmatic, diplomatic and stabilising global figure, may gain political ground from this latest episode. His defence of sovereignty, democratic institutions and balanced international relations could resonate more deeply with Brazilian voters ahead of next year's elections. This moment need not be seen as a crisis. Rather, it presents a pivotal opportunity for Brazil to assert itself as a sovereign economic power – less reliant on Washington and more engaged with an emerging multipolar global order. If Lula navigates it wisely, Trump's latest provocation may deliver not only a diplomatic win but a significant boost to his re-election prospects. In attempting to punish Brazil, Trump may well have undercut both his foreign policy ambitions and his ideological allies abroad. The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial stance.
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
State Department informs workforce of 'targeted reduction' in coming days
The State Department plans to release a letter to all employees Thursday evening informing them that the department is officially moving to implement a 'targeted reduction in domestic workforce.' 'Soon, the Department will be communicating to individuals affected by the reduction in force. First and foremost, we want to thank them for their dedication and service to the United States,' the letter, signed by Deputy Secretary for Management and Resources Michael Rigas, reads. The letter advises that once these notifications have taken place, the department will go into the 'final stage' of reorganization, where the new organizational chart unveiled by Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier in the year will fully take effect. MORE: USAID programs now being run by State Department as agency ends operations Senior State Department officials described the changes as 'the most complicated reorganization in government history,' emphasizing that the cuts were largely made to eliminate Cold War-era redundancies as well as eliminating functions that were 'no longer aligned with the president's foreign policy priorities.' 'At the end of the day, we have to do what's right for the mission,' one senior official said. 'There's a tremendous amount of sort of unnecessary bureaucracy,' the second official asserted. The State Department previously reported to Congress that it would aim to reduce its domestic workforce by around 15% as part of the reorganization. However, the senior officials specified that more than half of that goal would be met through 'voluntary reductions' -- people who elected to take the deferred resignation plan offered through the "Fork in the Road' emails earlier this year. The officials also said the department did not have current plans to reduce its force overseas. 'The secretary wants to take this one step at a time,' one official said. The officials also defended the department's decision to cut some highly trained foreign service officers rather than reassign them.


Al Jazeera
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Rubio: ‘We need to see a roadmap' on Ukraine peace talks
Rubio: 'We need to see a roadmap' on Ukraine peace talks NewsFeed Video Duration 01 minutes 47 seconds 01:47 Video Duration 02 minutes 51 seconds 02:51 Video Duration 05 minutes 42 seconds 05:42 Video Duration 00 minutes 46 seconds 00:46 Video Duration 02 minutes 38 seconds 02:38 Video Duration 01 minutes 01 seconds 01:01 Video Duration 02 minutes 55 seconds 02:55