THE NEW YORK TIMES: With Canada, Mexico, China, Colombia and the Middle East, President Trump has wasted no time threatening to use American might to force recalcitrant countries to back down and do what he wants.
Soft power is out. Hard power is in. Since returning to the White House, President Trump has demonstrated that he prefers to bludgeon, not bargain, his way to foreign policy goals.
With counterparts from Asia, the Middle East and North and South America, Mr. Trump has shown a willingness to use American power in a way that most of his modern predecessors have not. His favorite blunt instrument is not military force but economic coercion, like the tariffs he ordered on Saturday on goods from Canada, Mexico and China.
The tariffs, set to take effect Tuesday, amount to a declaration of economic war against America’s three largest trading partners, which have threatened to retaliate in a tit for tat that could escalate beyond any such conflict in generations. Mr. Trump’s decision to follow through on his tariff threat raises the stakes in his hard-edged America First approach to the rest of the world, with potentially profound consequences.
If he makes the targeted countries back down quickly in response to his demand to do more to stop drug trafficking, Mr. Trump will take it as a validation of his strategy. If not, and the tariffs take force and remain in place for a prolonged period, American consumers could pay a price through higher costs on many goods. » | Peter Baker | Peter Baker, the chief White House correspondent, is covering his sixth presidency and reported from Washington. | Sunday, February 2, 2025
