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WASHINGTON (AP) – Set to come out, the Trump administration is promulgating new rules, regulations and ordinances that it hopes will frame the administration of President-elect Joe Biden on many foreign policy issues and cement the President Donald Trump’s “America First” legacy in international affairs.
Still, the push may not work, as many of those decisions may be withdrawn or significantly changed by the new president when he takes office on January 20.
In recent weeks, the White House, the State Department and other agencies have been working overtime to produce new political statements on Iran, Israel, China and elsewhere that seek to lock in Trump’s vision for the world. Some have drawn considerable attention while others have flown largely under the radar.
And, while Biden could topple many of them with the stroke of a pen, some will require her administration’s time and attention when she comes to power with a host of other priorities that may require attention. more urgent attention.
The most recent of these measures came last week when Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made what may be his last visit to Israel as Secretary of State and made two announcements in support of Israel’s claims on territory claimed by the Palestinians.
Biden’s team has been silent about these announcements, but Biden has made it clear that he supports little, if any, and will overthrow many as he intends to revert to a more traditional policy towards Israel and the Palestinians.
The Trump administration’s determined efforts to thwart any possible reversals of Biden’s policy actually began months earlier, half a world away from the Jewish state, with China, even before the former vice president. is officially declared a candidate for the presidency of the Democratic Party.
As opinion polls began to show that Biden was clearly the frontrunner to beat Trump in November, the administration began to move even as the president maintained a public face of defiance and absolute confidence in his re-election.
Some officials point to a July 13 statement from Pompeo that the United States will now reject virtually all of China’s land claims in the South China Sea, a 180-degree change from positions of previous administrations that all such claims should be dealt with by arbitration.
While many of Trump’s foreign policy decisions from the start have been designed to blow up the foreign policy achievements of the previous administration – withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, the Paris climate agreement and of the Trans-Pacific Partnership on Trade – the South China Sea decision was the first to be linked by administration officials to the possibility of Biden being the next president.
An administration official said at the time that subsequent decisions would all be made towards Biden’s appointment as president. So fears that Trump might be a single-term president began to take hold in July and was followed by an acceleration of statements aimed primarily at thwarting any turnaround by Biden.
A look at some of these movements:
ISRAEL
On Thursday, before making an unprecedented trip to an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, Pompeo announced that the United States would now consider groups that defend Palestinian rights by supporting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel as “anti-Semitic”.
He also announced a change in import labeling rules that will require products made in settlements to be identified as “made in Israel.” The labeling of the product will take some time to come into effect and, so far, no group has been struck by the anti-Semitic designation. But, even if they are implemented, Biden could cancel them on day one.
These steps follow many other pro-Israel steps the administration has taken since coming to power. They include the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital, the relocation of the United States Embassy from Tel Aviv, and the withdrawal of aid to the Palestinian Authority and the United Nations refugee agency that works with the Palestinians. . While Biden is unlikely to bring the embassy back to Tel Aviv, the other measures can be quickly reversed.
IRAN
Pompeo and other officials have spoken of renewed pressure for sanctions against Iran, but the point is the administration has increased those sanctions since Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal. two years. New sanctions could potentially target supporters of Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as the Houthi Shiite movement in Yemen, which has been embroiled in a disastrous war with the country’s internationally recognized government.
Biden has spoken of wanting to join the nuclear deal, and Iranian officials have said they would be prepared to return to compliance with the deal if he does. Biden could eliminate many sanctions reimposed by the Trump administration by executive order, but it is still unclear how much of a priority that will be for him.
GREATER MIDDLE EAST
While the withdrawal of a significant number of US forces from Afghanistan and Iraq – reducing the troop level to 2,500 in each country – is a clear indication of Trump’s intentions, Biden’s approach remains less certain. Withdrawals could be delayed or slowed down by the Pentagon, and it remains unclear how the State Department will manage staff at its embassies in Baghdad and Kabul, both of which rely on U.S. military support.
Pompeo has threatened to close the US embassy in Baghdad unless rocket attacks by Iranian-backed militias against the area in which it is located are stopped. However, despite the determination to withdraw troops last week, no announcement has been made regarding the status of the embassy.
CHINA
Although the administration’s most vehement actions against China began over a year ago, they have gained momentum since March, when Trump determined he would immediately blame China for the spread of the novel coronavirus and would accuse Biden of being lenient towards Beijing.
Since then, the administration has steadily stepped up sanctions against China over Taiwan, Tibet, trade, Hong Kong and the South China Sea. He also opposed Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei and called for restrictions on Chinese social media apps such as TikTok and WeChat.
Last week, the State Department’s Office of Policy Planning released a 70-page strategic document on China. While it contains few immediate policy recommendations, it pleads for increased support and cooperation with Taiwan. Indeed, at the time of publication of the document, US officials were meeting with Taiwanese counterparts in Washington to discuss economic cooperation.
RUSSIA
Sunday marked the United States’ formal withdrawal from the “Open Skies Treaty” with Russia, which allowed each country to overfly military installations. The withdrawal, six months after the United States notified the Russians of its intention, leaves only one arms control pact still in force between former Cold War enemies – the new START treaty, which limits the number nuclear warheads that anyone can have. This treaty will expire in February.
The Trump administration had said it was not interested in extending the new START treaty unless China also adheres to it, which Beijing has rejected. In recent weeks, however, the administration has relaxed its stance and said it is ready to consider an extension. As the transition to the Biden administration approaches, these negotiations remain a work in progress.
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