EDITORIAL
US President has come out with rash decisions, hurting people around the world
Donald John Trump, the 79-year-old President of the United States of America seems to be in a great hurry to do things, which other US presidents would not have done under normal, and even abnormal circumstances. January 20, later this month, will mark President Trump’s one year in office. In less than one year at the White House, he has taken many weird decisions and signed bizarre executive orders, most of which had negative effects at the global level, to various extents. From the recent abduction of President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro and eying oil barrels from that country to his impulsive immigration actions which placed cruelty above security, Trump has come out with a spate of rash decisions, hurting people around the world.
The latest to come out of President Trump’s bag of tricks is the American Bill mandating up to 500 per cent tariffs on countries buying Russian oil. The Bill has not only flagged growing strain in the Indo-US ties, but also placed New Delhi in the line of fire along with China and Brazil. The backing of the particular Bill by Trump comes just ahead of the arrival of the US ambassador-designate Sergio Gor to Delhi this weekend. In fact, Gor had stated last September that ensuring India ends its import of Russian oil is a “top priority”.
The Graham-Blumenthal sanctions Bill, which allows the US administration to impose tariffs and secondary sanctions on countries that purchase oil, gas, uranium and other exports from Russia, will provide President Trump tremendous leverage against countries such as China, India and Brazil to incentivise them to stop buying the cheap Russian oil. India, on the other hand, plans to continue buying cheap crude oil from Russia, despite sanctions imposed on major Russian oil companies by the United States and Europe. In fact Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who met Russian President Vladimir Putin for the Russia-India annual bilateral summit in New Delhi last year, received an assurance from the Supreme Russian leader that, “Russia is ready for uninterrupted shipments of fuel to India”.
All said and done, President Trump’s anger towards the purchase of Russian oil by major nations, has forced the Indo-US bilateral relationship to pass through turbulent times and brings a fresh challenge before India every day. This would pose serious problems before the Indian government, as economic implications for India include reduced competitiveness of Indian exports in the US market, potential impact on key sectors such as textiles, pharmaceuticals, engineering goods, and gems & jewellery, disruption of long-term trade contracts and investor confidence, and so on.
Trump has also announced his country’s withdrawal from 66 international organisations, including the India-led International Solar Alliance (ISA) citing them as “wasteful, ineffective, or harmful” to American interests. Although the decision aligns with the US administration’s ‘America First’ doctrine, it also isolates the US from multilateral frameworks designed to address shared global challenges such as climate change, gender equity and sustainable development. As a result, the important global issues could suffer in the process.
President Trump, who clearly acts like an emperor ruling the world, looks lost at the end of the first year of his tenure. He is disoriented, feeling confused and directionless, seems to lack purpose, and takes decisions citing ‘American interest’ even though they may not have worldwide appeal. His actions and policies and their potentially negative consequences could weaken the US position in the world.
