Only 17 days into his second presidential term, Donald Trump has already threatened everyone.
The trade war with China, the Republican's statements about the Gaza Strip and the deportation of Latin American migrants are some of the decisions announced by Trump discussed in the 12th episode of Brasil de Fato’s podcast O Estrageiro.
For Marco Fernandes, a geopolitical analyst for Brasil de Fato, “the White House administration having to deny Trump's statements all the time is a bad sign for the United States”. For him, the Republican's absurd statements “are part of an erratic approach that is not so efficient.”
Regarding the president's tariff war against Denmark, the European Union, Canada and Mexico, the analyst said “Trump ignores the point of view of [political] decisions, and is getting apart from his allies.”
“[With Trump's speech] We can't expect much from the efficiency of the US empire. For the Global South, it's good news because it creates internal and external divisions [in the US], and this is an opportunity to strengthen ourselves in the face of the US empire.”
Mauro Ramos, Brasil de Fato's correspondent in China, shared the Asian country's opinion on Trump's statements. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that Gaza “is an inalienable part of the territory of Palestine, and China opposes the forced displacement of the Gazan people.”
For China, “Gaza is not a bargaining chip for political transactions.” Ramos added that the country also calls on the international community to “provide humanitarian assistance and rebuild Gaza.”
“It would be a great achievement for China to be part of Gaza’s reconstruction, and it could even mark a new phase for the BRICS,” said the geopolitical analyst. According to Fernandes, BRICS could establish itself “as a platform for countries acting in humanitarian and post-war cases. This is already in place. It remains to be seen whether it is possible to tie this together politically.”
A possible tug-of-war between BRICS members and the United States over Gaza involves economic interests, given the region's oil and gas reserves. “It's clear that Trump, the US and Israel are keeping a close eye on this.”
Therefore, for Fernandes, the issue involving the BRICS is that “for these countries, the right thing is for these resources to be exploited by Palestinians and even used to fund the reconstruction of the territory.”
USAID funds frozen
As part of his first decisions after returning to the White House on January 20, Trump froze Washington's aid to other countries for three months while he assesses whether this spending responds to the country's interests.
In addition, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was put in charge of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
For the geopolitical analyst, the country no longer needs this way of acting and imposing its influence. “Now, they have big tech and algorithms on their side. Thinking from the empire's perspective, they will find other ways to finance regime change projects.”
However, when thinking about hegemony, the US government's decision “creates a vacuum [of influence] around the world. This is an opportunity for the BRICs to get involved,” Marco says.
Trade war with China
China is one of the many countries threatened by the new tariffs Donald Trump has imposed. “There's no doubt that this could be a factor that brings relations between Russia and China even closer. And this relationship has even accelerated under Trump's first term”.
“In addition, we know from the data what happened when Trump launched a trade war against China in his first term: It was a total failure,” said Fernandes.
"Today, Chinese exports to the U.S. represent 2.8% of China's GDP. This is very little. US exports and imports have been plummeting since the 2000s, but [during Trump's first term] they accelerated in 2017 and 2018.”
O Estrangeiro is hosted by Lucas Estanislau and Rodrigo Durão live every Thursday at 10 am (local time).
