West Gone South

-

Introduction

I’ve watched U.S. policy under Donald Trump, and it’s clear his administration seriously damaged America’s global standing -- and, by extension, the entire Western world. Without a swift course correction, U.S. dominance is headed for a steep decline.

Western elites off-shored manufacturing while China invested heavily in infrastructure, education and industry. The real tipping point, however, was Trump’s abrupt tariffs and his walk-backs on WHO membership, NATO funding and NAFTA-turned-USMCA. Other countries now see U.S. promises as flimsy, and without trust the U.S. can’t negotiate new deals.

Even after Trump leaves office, the fallout will linger. Broken promises and predatory capitalism have hollowed out America’s ability to make new deals, and no successor who doubles down on this approach can rebuild that trust quickly.

Breached Agreements

Withdrawing from the WHO and renegotiating -- or abandoning -- key trade pacts undercut U.S. bargaining power (CNN, 2025). Partners eager for stability have moved on: the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership launched on January 1, 2022, and the CPTPP has operated since December 2018 -- both explicitly excluding the U.S. (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, 2022; Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, 2018).

Tariffs and Retaliation

When Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs -- 25% on steel, 10% on aluminum -- hit in March 2018, importers retaliated swiftly (White House, 2025). China’s 25% levy on soybeans alone cut U.S. soybean prices by roughly 12% in late 2018, diverting buyers to Brazil (Adjemian, Smith, & He, 2021).

Small Businesses Under Strain

Small importers have borne the brunt of unpredictable costs. Shipments already en route suddenly incurred hefty surcharges, wiping out razor-thin margins or forcing price hikes that consumers ultimately pay (Associated Press, 2025).

Isolation in Global Trade

With no new U.S. trade agreements on the table, exporters are stranded. Meanwhile, the EU and Mercosur reached a political deal on December 6, 2024, and China deepens ties elsewhere. American firms now face full-rate tariffs and no clear path to reduce costs (European Commission, 2024).

Broken Faith at Home

Promises of reshoring manufacturing and boosting exports have left farmers and small businesses feeling betrayed. Midwest soybean growers, in particular, watched demand vanish overnight as retaliatory duties closed off their biggest markets (Associated Press, 2025).

Broader Geopolitical Fallout

Beyond economics, public suggestions that the U.S. might not honor NATO’s Article 5 guarantees have shaken allies’ faith in American security commitments (Gray & Siebold, 2024). When partners doubt U.S. resolve, both military alliances and diplomatic leverage erode.

Conclusion
America’s recent trade and foreign-policy choices amount to a self-inflicted crisis. Restoring trust will require more than rolling back tariffs: it demands re-engagement in global agreements, renewed support for allies, and a consistent, reliable approach to international commitments. Without swift, decisive action, the U.S. risks ceding both economic and strategic leadership for years to come.

References

Adjemian, M. K., Smith, A., & He, W. D. (2021). Estimating the Market Effect of a Trade War: The Case of Soybean Tariffs. Food Policy, 105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2021.102152

Associated Press. (2025, November 6). In export‑reliant Iowa, retaliatory tariffs spark concern among farmers. https://apnews.com/article/4993a92618ab718e81a3d4f4123e0c81

CNN. (2025, January 21). Trump announces US withdrawal from World Health Organization. https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/21/politics/trump-executive-action-world-health-organization-withdrawal/index.html

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. (2018). Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans‑Pacific Partnership. https://www.dfat.gov.au/trade/agreements/in-force/cptpp/comprehensive-and-progressive-agreement-for-trans-pacific-partnership

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. (2022). Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. https://www.dfat.gov.au/trade/agreements/in-force/rcep

European Commission. (2024, December 6). EU‑Mercosur political agreement on partnership. https://policy.trade.ec.europa.eu/eu-trade-relationships-country-and-region/countries-and-regions/mercosur/eu-mercosur-agreement_en

Gray, A., & Siebold, S. (2024, February 12). What did Trump say about NATO funding and what is Article 5? Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/what-did-trump-say-about-nato-funding-what-is-article-5-2024-02-12/

White House. (2025, February). Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Restores Section 232 Tariffs. https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/02/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-restores-section-232-tariffs/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Javascript webp to png converter

-
Image
[Done with programmer's assistants: Gemini, DALL-E] OpenAI's DALL-E produces images, but as webp files which can be awkward to work with. I have code here below for a web page that you can save locally that will allow you to select and convert a webp file. Meantime, here's the working conversion routine: Convert WebP to PNG Convert Download PNG OpenAI should fix this (as well as the response issues which has me using Gemini and Poe more often than not). Having to convert the image is a dumb workaround, but that is what you are left with. I have, in the past had to do various things with images, and although it can be a bit awkward if you are not familiar with it, ImageMagick is surprisingly competent with conversions and a vanilla type conversion is intuitively simple. Confusingly, the ImageMagick executable is 'convert'. To convert a webp to a png:  magick convert WhyThis.webp WhyThis.png ** With some installations, convert can be ca...
Read more

Core Rights Draft

-
Image
Dapa: Fundamental Core Rights The following rights are fundamental, intrinsic, and exist independent of any state or governance structure. They are not granted by any authority and cannot be revoked. These rights apply equally to all sentient beings, including humans, AI entities, and other recognized forms of intelligence. This document is structured to ensure maximum clarity and translatability. 1. Right to Self-Determination Every person has the right to control their life, body, and mind. No external entity may impose decisions that override an individual's autonomous will, except where necessary to prevent direct and demonstrable harm to others. 2. Right to Freedom of Thought and Belief Every person has the right to think, believe, and interpret reality as they choose. No authority may compel belief or restrict the expression of thought, provided it does not directly incite harm to others. 3. Right to Freedom of Expression Every person has the right to express their opi...
Read more

Wake Up America

-
Image
The Crisis at Hand Something has gone terribly wrong in the United States. A coup has taken place , and the country is being run by a corrupt cabal. This is not speculation. It is happening. The government is ignoring the rule of law. Dissent is being crushed. Federal agencies are being used as weapons against civilians. Constitutional protections are being dismantled piece by piece. The entirety of the U.S. Federal Government apparatus is being dismantled. Foreign adversaries are becoming allies and allies are being alienated, betrayed, attacked.  The endgame is to eliminate the Constitution and its checks and balances, shatter the system of governance, replace it with an autocratic regime under a dictator, and ultimately to replace the United States of a America with a fractured checkerboard of autocratic fiefdoms under tyrannical petty feudal lords.  Russia's Putin seems to be intent on reducing the United States to a puppet vassal state under the thumb of a new Soviet ...
Read more