Trump returns to ‘maximum pressure’ as era of Biden alliances ends
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. WASHINGTON—President-elect Donald Trump’s brandishing of tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico and China marks the passage from one era to another: Partnerships are out, and coercion is in. Trump is showing his second term will be much like his first, defined by the economic and diplomatic fights he picked with friends as well as foes.
His punitive use of tariffs to bend others to his will is a far cry from the pains the Biden administration took to forge agreements and build consensus on policy in Europe and Asia. The president-elect has long taken strong positions with the goal of cowing negotiating partners. It is part of the playbook he used during his first term to confront Iran’s aggression and North Korea’s nuclear program.
In the end, his “maximum pressure" strategy produced mixed results: Iran was strangled financially but continued supporting proxies in the Middle East, and North Korea grew and advanced its nuclear arsenal. “His whole worldview is maximum pressure, it’s that simple," said a Trump adviser under consideration for a senior foreign-policy position. “Scare your negotiating partner into thinking you will do what most think is unthinkable." Trump on Monday night announced his plans to compel countries to stop the flow of migrants crossing the border illegally and fentanyl entering the U.S., by placing 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods, and increasing existing duties on Chinese products by 10%.
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