IN the opening weeks of his second term, President Donald Trump has used threats, intimidation and coercion against both America’s friends and adversaries to try to bend them to his will. His unilateralist ‘America First’ world view has led to measures and pronouncements that have reversed decades of US foreign policy, antagonised allies and alienated friends. Trump’s imperial conduct is destabilising an already shaky world order and plunging the world into intense volatility. His imposition of tariffs against allies and competitors risks a full-blown trade war that will prove immensely damaging for the global economy and also consequential for the US.
Trump assumes he can use US power — the Economist calls it the Don Corleone approach — to browbeat other countries into doing his bidding and at no cost to America. But the growing pushback from countries, big and small, shows how mistaken this assumption is. It is becoming increasingly evident that nations faced with Trump’s actions are determined to stand up to US pressure. Take for example Beijing’s response to Trump’s imposition of two rounds of tariffs on Chinese goods. China retaliated by imposing tariffs on a range of US products including agricultural goods that are likely to hurt American farmers hard. As trade tensions mounted, a spokesman of the Chinese Embassy in Washington said: “If war is what the US wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we’re ready to fight till the end.”
In fact, measured statements from Chinese officials earlier have given way to tougher rhetoric aimed at sending a strong message to both the US administration and the public in their own country that China will not take Trump’s actions lying down. The strongest statement so far came from China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi during a press conference in Beijing earlier this month. He accused the US of using “two-faced methods” to engage and suppress China to the detriment of bilateral relations. These efforts, he said, would fail as will any attempt to drive a wedge between China and Russia, which some have read into Trump’s overtures to President Vladimir Putin. The China-Russia relationship, Wang said, “is a constant in a turbulent world, not a variable in geopolitical games”. By both their rhetoric and actions, Chinese leaders have signalled resolve to counter Trump’s moves.
The pushback from other countries is taking different forms but indicates that Trump won’t find it easy to secure compliance with his plans. His outrageous idea of the US taking over Gaza, forcibly relocating Palestinians from their homeland and turning it into a ‘Riviera of the Middle East’ was universally condemned and rejected, especially by Muslim and Arab states but also many of America’s European allies. Opposition from even Washington’s closest Arab friends prompted Trump to backtrack, claiming his plan was a “recommendation” not an “enforcement”, but still the “best approach”. More recently, he said “no one is expelling Palestinians from Gaza”.
Arab states came up with an alternative in the shape of the Egyptian plan for Gaza’s rebuilding and governance. This has been endorsed by the 57-member OIC, backed by Hamas and supported by France, UK, Germany and Italy. This foils the Trump proposal and has not surprisingly been rejected by the US and Israel. There are many hurdles to cross before it can be implemented but for now it serves as a rebuke to Trump’s designs.
As in the past, the US under Trump is underestimating the power of nationalism across the world.
The response of countries to Trump’s pressure tactics has been a function of how dependent they are on the US and varied — offering talks to resolve problems, defiance and retaliatory measures as well as adopting hedging strategies. Trump has shown marked animosity towards neighbouring Canada, slapping stiff tariffs on its goods, repeatedly proclaiming the country should become the 51st state of America and that he will use economic coercion to achieve it. This has provoked a furious response from Canadian leaders, with Ottawa hitting back with counter tariffs. It responded to US tariffs on metals by announcing levies on around $30 billion worth of US imports. The Trump effect in Canada also saw a surge in the Liberal party’s popularity with its new leader and prime minister, Mark Carney, promising to confront the US, saying, “We didn’t ask for this fight, but Canadians are always ready when someone else drops the gloves”.
Meanwhile, Mexico, with an economy acutely vulnerable to the impact of sweeping tariffs on its goods, also signalled resistance to Trumpian pressure. Rejecting any capitulation to US demands and “interventionism”, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum declared: “Coordination, yes; subordination, no.” Greenland’s likely new prime minister vehemently rejected Trump’s desire to annex the island saying “We don’t want to be Americans”.
European nations, stunned by Trump’s reversal of policy on the Ukraine war, his reaching out to Putin, public spat with President Volodymyr Zelensky and being shut out of US talks with Russia, have quickly come together to evolve a unified position. Confronting a transatlantic rift but trying not to offend Trump, they made their views known by showing solidarity with Zelensky “in the face of Russian aggression” and insisting on security guarantees in any negotiated end to the war. They have sought ways to bolster Ukraine’s military capabilities and Europe’s defences and offer Washington a peace plan that doesn’t involve Ukrainian surrender to Russia. This pushback has involved a delicate balancing act but marks Europe’s effort not to be marginalised by the US in its endgame strategy on Ukraine. Faced with an unreliable America, French President Emmanuel Macron’s call for “strategic autonomy” is getting wider traction in Europe. Meanwhile, the EU retaliated sharply to US tariffs on aluminium and steel imports by significantly increasing levies on American products.
Trump may be extreme in his imperious, unilateralist ways but there is continuity with past US conduct in an important respect. Throughout its history of dealing with other nations, the US has underestimated the power of nationalism and the resistance it would meet in trying to force its will on others. This has been responsible for its military debacles, diplomatic setbacks and strategic failures as exemplified by its experience from Vietnam to Afghanistan. Ironic that a country that is so jingoistic itself is unable to understand nationalist sentiment in other nations.
The writer is a former ambassador to the US, UK and UN.
Published in Dawn, March 17th, 2025
Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1898411/threats-coercion-pushback