Maktab Competitive Exams Services
Current Affairs Workshop for CSS 2025
Instructor: Arslan Zahid Khan (CSP - 51st Common)
US Foreign Policy Under Trump 2.0 and Impacts on
emerging World Order
An Overview of Trump 1.0
1. Peace through Strength Doctrine: Not Isolation but Transactional Relations
2. Trump initiated a trade war with China, imposing tariffs on billions of dollars'
worth of Chinese goods to address trade imbalances, intellectual property theft,
and unfair trade practices.
3. He renegotiated the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), resulting
in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which updated
trade rules and labor standards.
4. Withdrawal from International Agreements: Paris Climate Agreement, Iran
Nuclear Deal (JCPOA), Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)
5. He held unprecedented summits with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in
2018 and 2019, aiming to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.
6. Middle East Peace Initiatives: Abraham Accords, Withdrawal of forces from
Syria and Iraq
7. Relations with traditional allies in Europe became strained, particularly with
Germany and France, due to disputes over trade, defense spending and NATO
8. Trump sought to improve relations with Russia, raising suspicions of undue
leniency towards President Vladimir Putin. His reluctance to publicly confront
Russia on election interference and other issues was controversial.
9. Hardline Stance on Immigration: Travel Bans
10. Military Actions and Defense: Withdrawal from Afghanistan, Soleimani Strike,
Increased Military Spending
11. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Trump announced the U.S. withdrawal from the
WHO, accusing it of mismanagement and bias towards China
12. Sanctions on Iran and Venezuela
US Foreign Policy Under Trump 2.0
1. He nominated anti globalist hawks in administration who call for the United
States to exit the International Monetary Fund Pete Hegseth for defense
secretary, Hegseth condemned the United Nations as “a fully globalist
organization that aggressively advances an anti-American, anti-Israel, and anti-
freedom agenda. Sen. Marco Rubio for Secretary of State, He is passionate
about implementing hawkish policies toward China, Iran, North Korea,
Venezuela, Cuba and Russia, Michael Waltz for National Security Advisor, anti
Chinese hawk who boycotted China winter Olympics.
2. He claimed that in his second term, if European NATO members failed to
increase their defense spending (2% of the country’s GDP) he would let the
Russians “do whatever they want.”
3. Trump is Concerned about China’s Military-Civil Fusion Program - between its
businesses, the Chinese Communist Party and the People’s Liberation Army
(PLA) to advance the PLA into a “world-class military” by 2049,
4. Focus on protecting U.S. technological development, especially in artificial
intelligence (AI), research and development efforts, and increasing U.S.
investment to enhance the U.S. semiconductor industry. Increasing
technological export controls and measures targeting outbound investment
5. Trump is Planning to withdraw from WTO and going to remove China’s Most
Favoured Nation Status
6. Trump aims to expand Abraham accords to facilitate Israel’s recognition. He is
now in favour of Two State Solution.
7. Will intensify sanctions on Iran to weaken its economy. Waltz has even
advocated for military strikes against Iranian energy infrastructure and nuclear
facilities. Under the Trump administration, the United States will take an
aggressive stance against Iran’s proxy groups, most notably Hamas, Hezbollah
and the Houthis, as well as Iraqi militia groups that have previously attacked
American forces.
8. With respect to Syria, his foreign policy is not clear with respect to station forces
in the country after fall of Assad’s regime
9. He would entail pressuring Ukraine to potentially accept territorial losses and
secure a commitment that Ukraine will not join NATO. Trump also expressed
interest in pausing U.S. economic aid and military assistance to Ukraine if it
does not enter negotiations with Russia to end the war. Rubio has called for a
swift end to the war in Ukraine and was one of the 15 Republican senators to
vote against the $61 billion military package for Ukraine in April
10. Trump Will continue Remain in Mexico Program and Counter Narcotics
Program. It will require asylum seekers from certain countries, primarily Central
American migrants, to wait in Mexico while their claims for asylum in the United
States were processed.
11. Trump has repeatedly commented that Canada should become the 51st U.S.
state and highlighted how the merge would remove tariffs, reduce taxes and
defend against the threat of Russia and China.
12. Reauthorization of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) that
was first enacted in 2000, which has been used to promote U.S. national
security priorities in Africa and compete with China’s presence in Africa. Trump
will also inherit the U.S. Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment
(PGI), a G7 initiative that seeks to address outsized Chinese influence globally.
13. US-India Cooperation in defence and economy will Increase. Trump has
announced 60% tariffs on Chinese imports. It will create an opportunity for India
to fill the gap in US Economy. US-India Defence Cooperation Act was drafted
by Marco Rubio. Continuation of LEMOA, COMCASA, BECA, Industrial
Security Agreement (ISA), and Strategic Trade Authorization (STA-1)
14. No Improvements with Pakistan as Trump will be more critical against china.
Pakistan being a strategic ally of china will bear the brunt of it. Moreover, given
the ongoing strong Indo US partnership in defence will have huge cost for the
country. Afghanistan is also no more center of cooperation between the two
nations
Impacts on The Global Order:
1. A question on American Credibility. Europe Decoupling from US. Macron’s
European Defence Initiative
2. Trump’s hawkish stance on China, focusing on economic decoupling, tariffs,
and military assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific, would exacerbate tensions.
3. Increased U.S. support for Israel and confrontational policies toward Iran would
destabilize the region
4. Undermining the United Nations and prioritizing unilateral action over
multilateral frameworks would reduce trust in global institutions.
5. Countries would likely shift toward bilateral trade agreements or regional
trade blocs in case of weakening of WTO and IMF
6. Trump’s pragmatic approach to authoritarian regimes and focus on
transactional diplomacy would reduce U.S. advocacy for democracy and
human rights (How Democracies Die)
7. Trump’s potential withdrawal from international climate agreements and
rollback of green policies would weaken global climate governance.
Way Forward:
1. Regional powers should lead efforts to reinforce multilateral institutions like the
United Nations, World Trade Organization (WTO), and World Health
Organization (WHO).
2. Nations can deepen regional economic and political ties to reduce vulnerability
to unilateral U.S. trade policies (RCEP, African Continental Free Trade Area
(AfCFTA))
3. Countries should adopt a non-aligned strategy, maintaining diplomatic and
economic relations with both the U.S. and China. Regional forums such as
ASEAN and the African Union can play a mediating role to prevent the world
from splitting into rival blocs
4. Strengthen global financial institutions that offer alternatives to the IMF and
World Bank, like the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and New
Development Bank (NDB).
5. Support initiatives that reduce reliance on U.S.-controlled financial systems,
such as expanding the use of regional currencies and developing non-dollar-
based payment systems.
6. Strengthen collaboration in green technology, renewable energy, and
sustainable development through alliances like the EU’s Green Deal or China’s
green initiatives
