rethink NATO, troops to Mexico, prevent World War III

Former Republican President Donald Trump says he plans to fundamentally change the US-NATO relationship if he wins a second four-year term in November.

During his campaign, he has suggested sending military forces into Mexico to fight drug cartels and imposing steep tariffs on friends and foes alike.

Below are the foreign policy proposals Trump has promised to implement if he wins the 2024 presidential election against US Vice President Kamala Harris, his Democratic rival:

NATO, Ukraine and European Allies

Trump has said that under his presidency, America will fundamentally rethink “the purpose of NATO and the mission of NATO.”

He has promised to ask Europe to reimburse the United States for “nearly $200 billion” in munitions sent to Ukraine, but has not yet committed to sending further aid to the Eastern European country if elected.

Trump cut defense funding for NATO toward the end of his term and frequently complained that America was paying more than its fair share.

On the war in Ukraine, he said he would resolve the conflict before taking office in January. While he has made few tangible policy proposals, he told Reuters in an interview last year that Ukraine might have to cede some territory to reach a peace deal.

Two Trump advisers told Reuters in June that they had presented a plan to end the war in Ukraine, with any further arms aid conditional on Kiev agreeing to peace talks with Moscow.

Although Trump indicated in early April that he was open to sending additional aid to Ukraine in the form of a loan, he remained largely silent on the issue during heated negotiations in Congress over a $61 billion aid package later that month.

China, trade and Taiwan

Trump regularly threatens to impose new tariffs or trade restrictions on China and some European allies.

His proposed Trump Reciprocal Trade Act would give him broad authority to impose retaliatory tariffs on countries found to have erected trade barriers themselves. He has floated the idea of ​​a universal 10 percent tariff, which could disrupt international markets, and a tariff of at least 50 percent on China.

Trump has called for an end to China’s most-favored-nation status, a status that generally lowers trade barriers between countries. He has vowed to implement “aggressive new restrictions on Chinese ownership of critical infrastructure in the United States,” and the official Republican Party platform calls for a ban on Chinese ownership of U.S. real estate.

On Taiwan, Trump has said that the United States should pay for its defense, saying it gives the U.S. nothing and has taken “about 100 percent of our chip business,” referring to semiconductors. He has repeatedly said that China would never dare invade Taiwan if he were president.

Mexico and Narcotics

Trump has said he will designate drug cartels operating in Mexico as foreign terrorist organizations and order the Pentagon to use “appropriate special forces” to attack the cartels’ leadership and infrastructure. However, the Mexican government is unlikely to approve the move.

He has said he would deploy the U.S. Navy to enforce a blockade against the cartels and use the Alien Enemies Act to deport drug dealers and gang members from the United States.

Civil rights groups and Democratic senators have pushed for the repeal of the 1798 law, which gives the president the power to deport foreigners while the country is at war.

The Republican Party’s new platform also calls for moving thousands of troops stationed abroad to the U.S.-Mexico border to combat illegal immigration.

Conflict in Israel

After Trump first criticized Israeli leaders in the days after its citizens were attacked by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on October 7, he said Hamas must be “crushed.”

While his rhetoric is belligerent, he has offered few policy solutions, but he did say he would take tougher action against Iran, which has close ties to groups the U.S. considers terrorist organizations, including Hamas.

Mr. Trump also says he wants to deport all “resident aliens” who are Hamas sympathizers. “Resident alien” is a legal term used to describe permanent residents of the U.S., also known as green card holders.

Climate

Trump has repeatedly pledged to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, an international accord designed to limit greenhouse gas emissions. He withdrew from it while in office, but the U.S. rejoined the accord in 2021 under Democratic President Joe Biden.

Missile defense

Trump has promised to build a state-of-the-art missile defense “force field” around the United States. He has not gone into details, except to say that the Space Force, a military branch his administration created, would play a leading role in the process.

World

What to watch for in the Harris-Trump presidential election…

In the Republican Party’s platform, the force field is called an “Iron Dome,” reminiscent of the Israeli missile shield of the same name.

Third World War

Trump has repeatedly warned that a third world war will break out if he does not win the election, a phrase that has become a central part of his campaign speech in the final months of the campaign.

“I’m telling you, and I’ve made a lot of predictions and this is not a prediction because it’s so bad. I don’t want it to be a prediction. We’re headed into World War III territory,” Trump said during a Fox News town hall in early September.

In making that prediction, the former president often refers to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the conflict between Israel and Hamas and the ongoing tensions between Taipei and Beijing.