Trump & Other Western Democracies: "The Discord is Obvious"
Join us and tell your reps how you feel!
What’s the story?
At the G20 Summit in Hamburg starting on Friday world leaders will focus on trade, climate change and migration, but President Trump’s expected opposition to many of the collective goals of the forum will become the key issue, according to Bloomberg News.
Why does it matter?
The G20 brings together the heads of state of the twenty most powerful nations in the world. Leaders discuss global financial stability, open trade deals and international immigration. Even more protectionist countries, like Brazil and Argentina, are now hoping to pursue international trade agreements.
President Trump’s "America First" foreign policy stands in stark contrast to those of the other gathering nations. Bloomberg analysts say Trump “seeks an overhaul of the global trading order that would elevate the U.S. at the expense of other countries.” This perception creates a political divide -- previously unimaginable -- between the U.S. and key allies such as Germany.
On the eve of the G20 Summit, Chancellor Angela Merkel said of her relationship with President Trump,
"...the discord is obvious and it would be dishonest to paper over the conflict.”
In another striking statement, Merkel told German voters that the U.S. should no longer be considered a "reliable ally."
Since Donald Trump assumed the presidency, the U.S. has left the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, taken steps to boost domestic coal production and reversed many Obama-era environmental regulations. Most other G20 countries remain staunchly committed to the Paris Agreement and some, like China and India, are stepping into the leadership vacuum left by the US. Merkel has already said that Germany will seek to partner with China to fill that vacuum.
In terms of immigration, European and African countries hope to develop multi-level strategies to deal with shifting populations across the globe. Mexico also has supported global refugee efforts. President Trump, meanwhile, has worked to ban travel by citizens of six Muslim-majority countries, advocated building a 30-ft wall at the U.S. southern border, and refused entry of Syrian refugees.
Unlike in previous G20 summits, one of biggest topics will be how to deal with the U.S. and Trump’s new agenda.
What can you do?
Ask yourself these questions, then share your answers with your reps: Do you support the G-20’s push for open markets, combating climate change and collectively addressing immigration? Do you think President Trump is right to pursue an America First agenda? Does the president’s relationship to G-20 member nations matter?
Use the Take Action button to tell your reps what you think!
— Asha Sanaker
(Photo Credit: Wikimedia / Creative Commons)
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