Trump’s second presidency signals the end of the Washington Consensus
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The second US presidency of Donald Trump will be the most consequential for any president after World War II. This assessment, shared by many analysts, is best articulated by conservative columnist David Brooks.
Approval ratings for Trump’s promised policies exceed the proportion of people who voted for him. Most Americans support strict action against illegal aliens, raising import tariffs, curbing immigration, cutting back support for Nato allies and reducing the size of government. These actions are on the cards.
Whether the public also supports other far-fetched ideas like making Canada the 51st state, taking over Greenland and Panama, or renaming the Gulf of Mexico remains to be seen. These ideas are only talk as of now, and unlikely to be followed through. But the action on immigration, protective tariffs and reducing military aid for countries like Germany, Canada and Japan seem imminent.
It would mark a break in a scenario which has existed for four decades. America has been the bastion of free-market capitalism and a champion of free trade. It is turning to protectionism and other forms of state intervention.
It will pick winners and give fiscal support to domestic industries. In 1989, the British economist John Williamson coined the phrase ‘Washington Consensus.’ It stood for a set of policies that became a template for developed countries and then emerging economies pursuing reforms, including India after 1991. The Berlin Wall fell and Soviet Union split up only after that phrase.
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