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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Business
- Yahoo
National security elites accept Trump is creating a new world order
ASPEN, Colorado — Six months into President Donald Trump's second administration, national security elites at the annual Aspen Security Forum have accepted that this president has irrevocably upended the global order. Against the backdrop of the leafy Aspen Meadows Resort, former and current U.S. and foreign officials, business leaders and analysts acknowledged publicly and privately that the Trump administration has dealt a lasting blow to much of the post-World War II consensus around free trade and long-term cooperation. 'We have to recognize that we're probably not going back to exactly that system,' former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said at the closing panel of the summit. Rice is a co-chair of the Aspen Strategy Group, which puts on the annual Rocky Mountains national security confab. Her words reflect the striking efficacy of the second Trump administration, which in its first six months has taken a sledgehammer to the norms and conventions that governed U.S. trade relations, use of military force and engagement with stalwart partners and alliances. It has also overseen the elimination of agencies that handle foreign policy tasks — most notably the now-defunct U.S. Agency for International Development — and slashed staff within the intelligence community, the Pentagon and the State Department. The administration has said these moves are necessary to create a more focused and effective foreign policy process that can prioritize American interests above all. But its critics have said the U.S. is reducing its ability to respond to crises, losing its credibility with allies and undermining the global economy by taking such a pugilistic approach to policy. Either way, attendees at Aspen are trying to adjust to an America First world order. The first time Trump was president, the national security establishment started out thinking they could influence his policy, and then assumed his policy moves could be easily reversed once he left office. Now that same group is struggling to come up with strategies to influence even on the edges, especially when the administration doesn't want to be part of the conversation. The day before the conference was scheduled to start, the Pentagon pulled its speakers, calling the conference a 'den of globalists' that didn't match the administration's values. In the end, only one administration official attended the conference: Adam Boehler, Trump's special envoy for hostage release. The other non-Pentagon official who'd been slated to speak — U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and Syria envoy Tom Barrack — withdrew following Israel's Wednesday strikes on Syria. Boehler participated in a convivial on-stage interview with CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins where he outlined how the Trump team addressed conflicting portfolios and argued the administration is moving in lock step to achieve key priorities, including freeing Americans held hostage by rogue regimes and actors around the world. 'I have a president and team that backs it up,' Boehler said of his efforts to free Americans. 'It gives me strength. When we decided to make a move, and the president decided to move on Iran for me, getting Americans out — that's going to get Americans out.' Given the administration's limited presence, attendees were forced to wrestle with how to address the president's many changes to foreign policy amongst themselves. The main approach at the conference seemed to be to at least avoid antagonizing team Trump. Much praise was offered for Trump's recent expressions of support for Ukraine and the success of U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in deteriorating Tehran's nuclear capabilities. And Trump's overhaul of federal agencies and departments was met with resignation and even some optimism. In informal conversations, there was recognition from some attendees that the State Department was overdue for reform to cut through decades of bureaucracy. The main protest was about the manner in which the cuts were being made. 'They all need reform,' said a former U.S. diplomat who attended the forum of USAID and State. 'There are a lot of challenges with how the bureaucracy is set up, and part of it is because of congressional demands. But this isn't reform. This is just dismantling and shutting down government bodies … and poor treatment of federal workers.' The former diplomat, like others cited, was granted anonymity to speak freely about the conference. Panelists and attendees also embraced the need to rethink the way that the U.S. offers foreign assistance. In one session discussing the future of foreign aid, panelists agreed that the Trump administration's pursuit of access to critical minerals in Africa's Great Lakes region represents an opportunity for alliances with countries that China has looked to court in recent years. 'There are a number of questions that rightfully should be asked, but I wouldn't condemn it outrightly. I think there is an opportunity to be had going down the line,' Comfort Ero, who leads the International Crisis Group think tank, told the audience. Especially on economic questions, attendees and panelists were quick to note that the protectionist tendencies Trump embraces are gaining adherents across the U.S. ideological spectrum. 'It's a big deal that you've now had two presidents of two different parties take a protectionist line,' former U.S. Trade Representative and World Bank Group President Robert Zoellick, said on one panel. 'That is a very big switch in the nature of trade politics." Some attendees expressed frustration at what they saw as pandering to Trump, saying there was a missing opportunity to have more discussion on the main stage about the potential impacts of Trump's policies and governing style on U.S. democratic institutions and institutions around the world. A recurring theme across panels was frustration with Congress over its repeated inability to pass a budget on time. Such delays in passing a budget and a reliance in recent years on continuing resolutions have been blamed for lags in innovative defense initiatives and snags in securing contracts. The threats posed by China in the Indo-Pacific — which many Democrats and Republicans agree are pressing — came up in many discussions, as foreign officials and former U.S. officials warned that the risk of full-scale conflict with Beijing over Taiwan or other flashpoints had reached an unprecedented level. Still, some Democratic attendees argued that Americans aren't necessarily sold on Trump's vision for the world. On a panel Friday, Biden administration national security adviser Jake Sullivan argued that people on both sides of the aisle are too ready to read Trump's 2024 victory as a mandate for protectionism and isolationism. 'We tend only to read the signals in one direction. And I think that's not right,' said Sullivan, who noted that few people suddenly argued Americans were newly interested in the world after President Joe Biden — widely seen as a fervent internationalist — defeated Trump in 2020. 'I actually believe the American people continue to believe in principled engagement in the world, and continue to believe that our fate is tied to the fate of people elsewhere.' Few solutions were also being offered to the fundamental changes Trump is ushering in, cautioned the former U.S. diplomat. 'Especially on soft power, I'm seeing a lot fall apart but it doesn't seem like there's something else being built to put in its place,' the diplomat said. Some officials focused their warnings on the dangerous uncertainty created by the kind of reshaping of the world that Trump has embarked on. 'Any student of history will know the most dangerous phase is the interregnum between one world order and another,' said Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan during a fireside chat at the conference. 'Are we in that interregnum? Yes, we are.' Nahal Toosi and Felicia Schwartz contributed to this report.
Washington Post
2 days ago
- Business
- Washington Post
U.S. allies find that ‘nice kitty' doesn't keep Trump from biting
President Donald Trump's disruptive trade and security policies are producing some big aftershocks — including a likely summit meeting in China this fall, a possible change of government in Japan and European complaints of U.S. economic 'blackmail.' A common theme running through these global developments is that rivals such as China seem to be faring better in dealing with Trump's challenge to the global order than are traditional U.S. allies including Japan and European nations. Except for Britain, countries are often finding that the reward for being a loyal partner is a punch in the nose. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last Friday that there's a 'high probability' of a summit between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. That announcement came after what Rubio described as a 'very constructive, positive meeting' with his Chinese counterpart, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Diplomats tell me the summit will probably take place in Beijing in October. Trump's agreement to meet on Xi's turf comes after Beijing's tough response to U.S. tariffs and trade restrictions. China nearly matched Trump's initial 145 percent levy, raising its tariffs on U.S.-made goods to 125 percent, which pressured Trump to trim his proposed tariffs to 30 percent. China countered Trump's ban on the export of advanced computer chips with a restriction on U.S. purchases of rare earth minerals — which diplomats tell me hit harder than expected — and Trump recently eased the chip ban. Big, tough China seems to have Trump's respect. But friendly countries that tried to play nice with the administration haven't fared well. They are facing economic and political shocks at home, and they're considering painful adjustments. A prime example is Japan, one of the most steadfast U.S. economic and security partners. Japanese officials were stunned when they were hit with a 25 percent tariff on all exports to the United States. They are arguing their case for relief, especially on auto exports, to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who's visiting Japan this week. But a trade deal before the Aug. 1 imposition of tariffs is unlikely. For Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, this inability to obtain relief from Washington is likely to be costly politically. Japan holds elections for half the seats in its upper house of parliament this weekend, and the LDP-led coalition is likely to lose its majority, a Japanese analyst told me. The LDP already lost control of the lower house in October. After this weekend's expected setback, Japanese analysts predict that Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba could be replaced, perhaps by former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi. Japan's political shake-up illustrates the global turbulence caused by Trump's 'America First' policies. Japan made an epochal post-1945 bet on an American-led global order. As Trump dismantles that backstop, Japan will need to become more self-reliant and independent, with a less U.S.-dependent foreign policy. A poll last month by the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper showed that the percentage of Japanese who say they trust the United States has fallen drastically since November, down to 22 percent. Japan even has its own mildly MAGA party, known as the Do It Yourself party, which is likely to gain seats in this weekend's elections for its nationalist agenda. Europe, too, has been spinning on the Trump yo-yo. In a Monday meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Trump lauded European nations for their fortitude in supporting Ukraine, calling them 'solid, strong countries' that were ready to take big risks to protect themselves against an aggressive Russia. But on trade, Trump continues to hammer the European Union. He threatened last weekend to impose 30 percent tariffs on the 27 countries in the European Union, which the group's trade minister, Maros Sefcovic, called 'absolutely unacceptable.' Sefcovic is in Washington this week to try to negotiate a reduced rate from Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and other officials before the levy takes effect Aug. 1. 'The E.U. never walks away without a genuine effort, especially considering … how close we find ourselves to making a deal, and the clear benefits of a negotiated solution,' Sefcovic said. 'But as I have said before, it takes two hands to clap.' A sign of Europe's growing frustration with Trump was a statement Tuesday by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot. He called the 30 percent tariff demand 'an unfriendly move that resembles blackmail and falls short of the special relationship between the United States of America and the European Union.' Europe's negotiating style with Trump has, until recently, mostly been the 'nice kitty' approach, hoping that the White House would eventually relent. For example, some European officials have privately assured the administration that they agree that their technology regulations and information-protection rules are too harsh and should be more closely aligned with U.S. standards. But if the impasse continues, the E.U. has a potent retaliatory arsenal of its own, known as the anti-coercion instrument. An E.U. document explains this measure may 'include restrictions on the access to the EU market,' including goods, services, investment, finance and government procurement. It's Europe's trade version of the 'nuclear option,' and it's notable that European officials, after months of caution, are beginning to talk about it openly. Trump took a roundhouse swing at the global economic system when he announced his tariffs April 2. He hit his target, and the system is swinging like a broken piñata. Trump might back down when he sees strength, as in China's response. But mostly, he's still punching.
Fox News
3 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Japan calls axis of China, Russia, North Korea the 'gravest threat' to global order since WWII
The joint operations between China and Russia combined with threats coming from North Korea pose the greatest threat to global order since World War II, Japan's defense ministry said in a new document. "The existing order of world peace is being seriously challenged, and Japan finds itself in the most severe and complex security environment of the post-war era," Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said in the annual document. "The international society is in a new crisis era as it faces the biggest challenges since the end of World War II." The world's greatest threats are centered in the Indo-Pacific, where Japan is located, and are expected to get worse in coming years, he added. And amid questions about what role Japan would play if war broke out between the U.S. and China over Taiwan, the minister called the U.S. a "key pillar of our national security policy and the cornerstone of peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region." Jiang Bin, a spokesperson for China's defense ministry, said Wednesday that Japan was "hyping up the 'China threat,' and grossly interfering in China's internal affairs." Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby lauded the report as an "important, clear-eyed strategic assessment." The report also comes days after Japan accused China of risking near-collisions by flying its fighter jets abnormally close to Tokyo's intelligence-gathering aircraft. China accused Japan of flying near Chinese airspace to spy. The presence of Chinese warships off the coast of southwestern Japan has tripled in the last three years, including in waters between Taiwan and the neighboring Japanese island of Yonaguni, the paper said. Russia has engaged in joint activities with China involving aircraft and vessels. North Korea, meanwhile, poses "an increasingly serious and imminent threat" to Japan's security, having developed missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads into Japanese territory and intercontinental missiles that could reach the U.S. homeland. Japan, in return, continues to fortify its southwestern island chains with long-range cruise missiles, including U.S.-made Tomahawks. The overall military balance between China and Taiwan is "rapidly tilting in China's favor," according to the paper, and Taiwan's defensive capabilities are increasingly outpaced, especially with China's development of anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) systems and amphibious capabilities. "There is growing concern over China's pursuit of unification through gray-zone military activities," the paper says, referring to incremental intrusion tactics without the launch of full-scale war. Japan sees Taiwan's security as directly tied to its own: Taiwan strait instability could disrupt vital sea lanes for Japan.
Russia Today
09-07-2025
- Business
- Russia Today
Pretoria pushes G20 to address unfair exploitation of Africa's mineral wealth
Pretoria's Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola has called for a fairer, more equitable global order and an end to exploitative resource extraction practices that harm Africa, stating that the G20 must drive transformational diplomacy, global peace, and sustainable development. Speaking at the G20 Sherpa Meeting hosted in Sun City, North West Province, Lamola warned that the global economy is under increasing strain from geopolitical tensions, economic nationalism, and climate-induced disasters. He urged the G20 to be bold in reforming multilateral institutions and ensuring equitable participation for developing nations. 'This is not just economics; it is Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability – the theme of our Presidency,' said Lamola. 'The G20 is a platform that can ensure: the era of extraction without equity ends, and we begin an era of true partnership and collaboration for the good of sustainable development across countries.' Lamola reminded delegates that South Africa's international outlook is rooted in its liberation struggle, referencing the 1955 Freedom Charter, which declared: 'There shall be peace and friendship!' 'The Freedom Charter became the foundational document of our Constitution. It informs our constitutional and international outlook, it has a 70-year-old foundation; it will never change,' he said. Lamola highlighted the paradox of Africa's mineral wealth fueling the global energy transition, while little value is retained locally. Citing critical minerals such as platinum, vanadium, and fluorspar found in the North West Province, he explained that these are exported in raw form, while value-added goods are imported back at high cost. 'We export wealth but import back its transformed value,' Lamola said. ''These are not just rocks, they are the DNA of electric vehicles, renewable grids, and life-saving isotopes." He added: 'Our mission is clear: we must turn these buried treasures into local jobs, factories, and sovereignty.' Moreover, he announced that under its G20 Presidency, South Africa is advancing a Critical Minerals Framework aimed at industrialisation, local beneficiation, and inclusive economic growth. Turning to global peace and security, Lamola condemned escalating conflict and humanitarian crises, especially in Africa, citing Sudan's displacement emergency as 'a moral emergency' affecting over 30 million people. He expressed deep concern over the erosion of international law and the paralysis of the UN Security Council. 'We have adopted an anti-war stance. This is because we know too well that war offers no victors, only victims,' he said. Lamola warned that disorganized peace risks undermining global progress. 'It is more difficult to organize a peace than to win a war; but the fruits of victory will be lost if the peace is not organized.' He also called for urgent reforms to global governance and greater international cooperation in the face of fragile states, climate shocks, digital divides, and geopolitical fragmentation. He pointed to the sobering statistic that only 17% of the Sustainable Development Goals are currently on track, just five years from the 2030 deadline. 'Diplomacy's role in peace, security, and human rights must be underscored by fundamental international norms, values and principles that underpin humanity,' Lamola published by IOL
Al Jazeera
07-07-2025
- Business
- Al Jazeera
What difference has BRICS made on the world stage?
The bloc of nations has expanded and aims to reform what it calls a Western-led global order. The 17th BRICS summit is being held in Brazil, again aiming to balance Western economic power and political dominance. But as the meetings take place, eyes are on the US and President Donald Trump's trade tariffs, perhaps showing America still holds the cards. list of 3 items list 1 of 3 list 2 of 3 list 3 of 3 end of list While the host nation Brazil condemns Israel's aggression and NATO's increased defence spending, other countries are not so outspoken. And two important faces are not attending – Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian leader Vladimir Putin. So does BRICS still have a cohesive purpose? Has the grouping made tangible achievements over the years since it launched in 2009? And what can it realistically hope to do, in today's world? Presenter: James Bays Guests: Gustavo Ribeiro – Founder and editor-in-chief of The Brazilian Report Sergey Markov – Director at the Institute of Political Studies in Moscow and former public spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin Jayant Menon – Former lead economist at Asian Development Bank and visiting senior fellow at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore
