'America First' doesn't mean 'America Alone': What Trump said at World Economic Forum
In the most anticipated speech of the ongoing World Economic Forum in Davos, the last hurrah as it were, the president of the United States, Donald Trump, outlined his idea of America at the globalist platform, asserting that the two are not at odds with each other. Declaring that "America First" - the motto of his nationalist government under the Republican party banner - isn't an automatic route to "America alone", Trump dispelled some of the widely held fears that he would hijack WEF's overtly internationalist outlook with his nationalist zeal, upsetting the applecart somewhat.
Donald Trump speaks at Davos. Follow here https://t.co/OdVCCs96dG https://t.co/Tbu0z04bcz
— World Economic Forum (@wef) January 26, 2018
Instead of railing against the transnational order, Trump trained guns at "predatory trading practices", saying each country has the right to safeguard its interests. Hinting at the wide-scale off shoring of jobs and manufacturing by American companies over cheap labour and cost, Trump said he has cut corporate taxes to make America "open for business" again, something that wasn't being done since the time of Ronald Reagan, Trump's Republican antecedent.
While the tax cuts are being hotly debated in the US national media, concurrent with other policies of the Trump-led White House, such as depleting medical cover for the poor and the middle classes, immigration tightening and strict regulation of previously lenient visa norms such as the H-1B, etc, the US president waxed eloquent about the stock market boom that has followed since the cuts were announced.
President Trump launches fierce attack on "predatory" trade practices but says "America first is not America alone" https://t.co/42bGcaVspv #Davos2018 #wef18 pic.twitter.com/ZOInzDdtuE
— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) January 26, 2018
Trump also spoke of America being a great investment destination, hard-selling his country against a resurgent Europe under the twin leadership of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron. Trump also pitched America as an alternative to obvious Asian markets such as India and China.
@POTUS @realDonaldTrump on free trade at #wef18 pic.twitter.com/QFzu7mGfMU
— World Economic Forum (@wef) January 26, 2018
In fact, parts of Trump's speech sounded similar to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's keynote address at the opening plenary session on January 23, especially the well-oiled business-friendly pitch. While PM Modi had warned against "protectionism", Trump sounded a caveat, saying every country has the right to defend itself economically.
on energy at #wef18 pic.twitter.com/xJZmJCDekH
— World Economic Forum (@wef) January 26, 2018
However, unlike PM Modi, Trump made no reference to climate change, given his high-profile exit from the Paris climate deal in April last year. He touched upon securing America more in terms of defence spendings, as well as saying that the anti-ISIS coalition has wrested almost 100 per cent of the territories once occupied by the Islamic State.
@POTUS @realDonaldTrump on the US economy at #wef18 https://t.co/aPWlerpK41 pic.twitter.com/FgDyNTawOD
— World Economic Forum (@wef) January 26, 2018
President Trump sounded more sober than his usual bombast, though the claims that he made on employment rates among Hispanics, African-Americans and women can be attributed to the policies of the previous Obama administration with its strong affirmative action push. Similarly, the state of the political economy could be gauged from the fact that on the first anniversary of Trump's swearing-in, there was a US government shutdown because the Congress couldn't agree on a federal budget.
Not to mention the bad press that Trump is still getting nationally, with some seriously considering if he can be impeached. That said, the expected grouse against "fake news" and "nasty" media at a global platform was new for the WEF, even though Trump enjoyed a full house, like always.
Trump's speech and later interaction with WEF head Klaus Schwab indicate clearly that his anti-immigration policies will continue unabated, making it increasingly difficult for foreign policy experts in India to negotiate a better deal for the expats and NRIs, increasingly courted back home by all political parties.
Does Trump's speech ring alarm bells already? Yes, but they are not as loud as we had made them out to be.