Former Republican US President Donald Trump plans to fundamentally change the US relationship with NATO if he wins a second four-year term. On the campaign trail, he also proposed sending armed forces to Mexico to fight drug cartels and imposing sweeping tariffs on friends and foes alike. Here are the foreign policy proposals that Trump has promised to introduce if he wins the 2024 presidential election:
NATO, UKRAINE AND EUROPEAN ALLIES
Trump said that under his presidency, America will fundamentally rethink "the purpose and mission of NATO". He also said he would ask Europe to reimburse the US for "nearly $200 billion" of ammunition sent to Ukraine. and has not committed to sending additional aid to the Eastern European country if elected.
Trump slashed NATO defense funding toward the end of his previous term in office and often complained that America was paying more than its fair share.
Regarding the war in Ukraine, he said he would resolve the conflict even before taking office in January next year. Although he has offered few concrete policy proposals on the issue, he said in an interview with Reuters last year that Ukraine may have to cede some territory to reach a peace deal. Two Trump advisers told Reuters in June that they had presented him with a plan to end the war in Ukraine by placing conditions on any further arms aid to the eastern European ally if Kiev agreed to come to the table for peace talks with Moscow.
Although Trump signaled in early April that he might remain open to sending additional aid to Ukraine in the form of a loan, he has largely remained silent on the issue during contentious negotiations in the US Congress on the $61 billion aid package later that month.
CHINA, TRADE AND CUSTOMS
Trump has frequently threatened to impose major new tariffs or trade restrictions on China, as well as some European allies.
Trump's proposed reciprocal trade law would give him broad latitude to increase restrictive tariffs on countries found to have erected their own trade barriers. He also floated the idea of a universal 10 percent tariff, which could undermine international markets.
Trump has also called for an end to China's most-favored-nation status, which typically lowers trade barriers between the countries. He has promised to introduce "aggressive new restrictions on Chinese ownership of every vital US infrastructure," and the official GOP platform calls for banning Chinese ownership of American real estate.
Trump rarely discusses Taiwan or what he would do if China invaded there, other than to say China would never dare invade if he were president.
MEXICO AND DRUGS
Trump said he would designate drug cartels operating in Mexico as foreign terrorist organizations and order the Pentagon to "appropriately use special forces" to attack cartel leaders and infrastructure, which is unlikely to receive the blessing of the Mexican government.
He also said he would deploy the US Navy to enforce a blockade on drug cartels and invoke the Enemy Alien Act to deport drug dealers and gang members to the US.
Human rights groups and Democratic senators are pushing to repeal this law, passed in 1798, which gives the president the power to deport foreign nationals while the country is at war.
The new GOP platform also calls for moving thousands of military personnel stationed overseas to the US-Mexico border to fight illegal immigration.
THE CONFLICT IN ISRAEL
After initially criticizing Israel's leaders in the days after its citizens were attacked by the Palestinian Islamist movement "Hamas" on Oct. 7, Trump has since claimed that "Hamas" must be "crushed". While his rhetoric is belligerent, he has offered few policy solutions other than to say he will be tougher on Iran, which has close ties to groups classified by the US as terrorists, including Hamas.
Trump also said he would seek to deport all "aliens with legal residency" who are "Hamas" sympathizers.
"Foreigner with right of residence" is a legal term used to categorize US permanent residents, also known as so-called green card holders.
THE CLIMATE
Trump has repeatedly promised to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, the international agreement to limit greenhouse gas emissions.
He did withdraw from it during his tenure, but the US joined the agreement in 2021 under Democratic President Joe Biden.
MISSILE DEFENSE
Trump promised to build the most advanced anti-missile defense "force field" around the US. He did not elaborate, other than to say that the Space Force, the military branch his administration created, would play a leading role in that process.
In the Republican Party platform, this "force field" is called "Iron Dome" and is reminiscent of the Israeli anti-missile defense system of the same name.
Translation from English: Svetoslav Tanchev, BTA