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Europe's biggest concerns about Trump's return
Carl Bildt, former prime minister of Sweden and co-chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations, shares his perspective on European politics from Delhi, India.
Is Europe prepared for a Trump presidency?
And that's of course the big issue around every capital of Europe. There are two major issues and concerns.
One of them, obviously, the Russian war against Ukraine. What will be the US policy? Trump has promised to make peace within 24 hours. That's not going to happen. Putin is determined to continue this particular war. What would be the consequences then? Is Trump going to throw Ukraine under the bus, abandon support and thus abandon de facto concerns for the security of Europe? How would Europe react to that big issue?
Second big issue, tariffs. Trump has said that tariffs is the word that he loves most of all words. And he said that he's going to impose 10, 20% tariffs on all imports and far more on imports, of course, from China. That's going to have hugely negative effects for the global economy, also for the European economy, US economy and everyone else. What's going to be the European reaction to that? Counter tariffs or trying to line up with other global trade actors to preserve as much as we can, open up a big global trading system? Huge issues. No answer until by January 20th we know what the Trump administration is going to do. One conclusion, fairly obvious; we better buckle up.
Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly speaks during a reception honouring the visit of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada October 26, 2022.
Canadian foreign minister heads to China amid tough tariff talk
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly made a surprise visit to Beijing on Thursday as Canada and the United States are both considering new barriers to trade with China.
Canada-China relations have gone from bad to terrible since 2018, when Canada held Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou for extradition to the United States and the Chinese government responded by detaining Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. Wanzhou and the two Michaels were released in 2021, but a Canadian public inquiry into foreign interference continued to put a strain on relations. Then came the suspected Chinese spy balloon surveillance in US and Canadian airspace in 2023.
Still, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China was open to improving relations earlier this year.
But this week, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said she would be talking to Canadian business and labor groups about erecting new trade barriers with China. Washington sent a similar message as Joe Biden told allies on Wednesday that he is considering taking fresh action to block Chinese chip manufacturing. Meanwhile, in Milwaukee this week, Donald Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, said China is the “biggest threat” facing the United States.
The Chinese likely want to talk to Joly about avoiding new trade barriers with Canada, since China’s economy is struggling and any new limits on exports could further slow growth. Joly will no doubt listen politely, but Canada is unlikely to jeopardize its crucial trade relationship with the United States by making any side deals with Beijing.
How would the new tariffs on Mexican imports affect the price of avocados?
With the new tariffs on Mexican imports, will I still be able to afford avocado toast?
Answer: It's going to get more expensive. To back up, President Trump announced 5% tariffs on goods imported from Mexico on June the 10th, to go up to 25% tariffs in October — beginning of October. While the President talks about these tariffs, it makes it sound like the Mexican government is going to cut a check to the US government. In fact, what happens is these costs are borne by companies as they import goods into the US, and therefore is borne by, and passed along to, the US consumer. So this can have the impact — and will have the impact — of dampening the economy, and by quite a bit. There's an economic consulting firm in Texas that says the tariff could cost the US more than 400,000 jobs and $40 billion of GDP. So it's going to hurt the cost of your avocado, as well as everything else that comes from Mexico, and will hurt the economy as well, which is why you're seeing some stock market volatility right now.
It's Pride Month! How can we use our dollars to celebrate?
Answer, of course, is by spending those dollars or investing those dollars with LGBTQIA-owned companies. As well as in the workplace, hiring, promoting, mentoring, giving references to LGBTQIA individuals, and really building an inclusive environment. Because the research tells us that when people feel like they belong at a company, they are three and a half times more likely to fully contribute.