During the first two months of his presidency, Donald Trump's foreign policy focused on imposing "tariffs" and then "sanctions," while the White House's approach to Ukraine, Gaza, and Iran also attracted attention.
Ashura News, quoted by Mehr News Agency, International Group: After the inauguration ceremony on January 20, Donald Trump's second administration began with a storm of changes in Washington and America's relations with the world; from imposing tariffs on Canada, a long-standing ally, even more than the tariffs imposed on China, to raising the issue of the US occupation of Gaza, threatening to annex Greenland, and contacting Russian President Vladimir Putin with the aim of ending the war in Ukraine.
The US foreign policy turns to the "tariff" axis
Unlike Trump's first term as president, where he focused more on political-economic pressure and sanctions, Trump has placed the issue of tariffs at the forefront of the White House's foreign policy agenda in his second administration.
Trump considers the goal of imposing tariffs on goods imported from various countries to return production to the United States and considers it an important step towards realizing the slogan of "making America great again."
With that in mind, on March 7, the US president ordered a 25% tariff on Canadian and Mexican goods and a 10% tariff on Chinese goods, saying Beijing must prevent fentanyl from entering the United States. Five days later, on March 12, he imposed a sweeping 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imported into the United States, a move that threatens to raise the prices of a wide range of consumer and industrial goods for Americans.
The tariff war, as expected, was met with a reciprocal response from various global players. China quickly announced a 10% to 15% increase in import tariffs on a range of US agricultural and food products, while simultaneously placing 25 US companies under export and investment restrictions.
The European Union, a longtime US ally, responded to Trump's tariff war by imposing new tariffs on $28 billion in US imports in the areas of steel, aluminum, textiles, household appliances and agricultural products - including poultry, beef, seafood, nuts, sugar and vegetables.
The tension continued to escalate until Trump threatened in late March to impose massive tariffs (200 percent) on European alcoholic beverages in response to the European Union’s retaliation against his steel and aluminum tariffs, escalating a trade war that observers see as easily spiraling out of control.
Before China and the EU, America’s northern and southern neighbors were the targets of Trump’s tariff war. The US president said on his social media account, Truth Social, that tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada (increased by 25 percent today) would be 50 percent and that Canada should immediately remove its tariffs on American goods.
Trump stated: “In response to Canada’s imposition of a 25 percent tariff on electricity imported into the United States, I have instructed the Secretary of Commerce to impose an additional 25 percent tariff on Canada and to increase the tariff on steel and aluminum imports from Canada to the United States to 50 percent.”
The US president added that he would soon declare a national emergency in the areas concerned in response to the electricity issue, which would “allow the United States to take immediate action to address this threat from Canada.”
Stating that Canada must remove the 250-390 percent tariffs imposed on various US dairy products, he threatened that if Canada does not remove its own (retaliatory) tariff, starting next month (April 2025) we will also increase customs duties on imported cars from this country.
Canada is the largest supplier of steel and aluminum to the United States and, according to reports, tariffs on $30 billion against the United States are likely to be imposed. A Canadian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said his country would impose retaliatory tariffs on $29.8 billion in the country in response to Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs.
Some analysts believe that despite Trump's insistence on imposing tariffs, it is ultimately the financial markets that shape economic trends and may force the US president to back down from tariff policies.
CNN, stating that markets act as the "final arbiter" and economic policies must be adjusted according to market reactions, added: Trump's tolerance for market turmoil is not infinite and the stock market reaction may ultimately force him to reconsider his policies.
The American media outlet referred to some previous backtracking on a 60% tariff on all goods imported from China or a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico and wrote that "Trump may eventually be forced to back down from current tariff policies." It should be noted that on February 6, at the very beginning of the tariff imposition, the Trump administration announced a one-month postponement of 25% tariffs on the automotive industry in Mexico and Canada.
Trump's controversial approach to Gaza and Ukraine
On February 25, just two days after his inauguration, Trump once again made claims and confiscated the Gaza ceasefire agreement in his favor. In relation to the Ukraine crisis, he also said, without mentioning former Democratic President Joe Biden, that if he had been president, the war in Ukraine would not have happened.
Regarding Trump's approach to Gaza, it should be said that he is taking the same path that Biden had previously taken. On February 25, the US Treasury Department officially lifted sanctions against settlers and illegal groups of the Zionist regime, including the Amana settlement movement, which were accused of violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank amid increasing attacks by settlers.
Continuing his support for the Zionist regime, Trump issued an executive order on February 6, 2025 (18 Bahman 1403) imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, in support of the regime, and at the same time as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in Washington, D.C.
The statement explicitly claimed that the International Criminal Court had abused its power by issuing groundless arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Minister of War Yoav Gallant, without any legal basis.
Trump's unwavering support for the Zionist regime's genocide in Gaza was met with a global backlash. For example, a day later (February 19), 79 countries, including Canada, Germany, France, South Africa, and Mexico, announced in a joint statement that Trump's action to impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court would destroy the rule of international law. Trump's hostility towards the Palestinian people intensified with his alleged plan to forcibly relocate Gaza residents and transfer them to Egypt and Jordan.
Trump's support for the Zionist regime against the axis of resistance reached its peak during the US and British attacks on Yemeni cities in the last days of 1403. Fighter jets and bombers from these two Western belligerent countries targeted areas in the cities of Sana'a and Saada in Yemen on the evening of Saturday, February 15.
According to published reports, this attack destroyed residential areas and civilian infrastructure in Yemen and cut off electricity to large parts of these cities. By the end of 1403, the media reported that the number of martyrs in various cities in Yemen was more than 50 and the number of wounded was more than 100, most of whom were women and children.
The United States claims that these attacks are in response to attacks by the Yemeni army and Ansar Allah on American and Western ships in the Red Sea, but Ansar Allah insists that any attack on the ships is in response to attacks by American forces and that the Yemeni army has defended the territorial integrity of the country.
In the case of the Ukraine crisis, Trump had promised during the election campaign that he would resolve the crisis within 24 hours, but by the end of 1403, exactly 2 months into his administration, the US president had been unable to resolve this three-year crisis.
The controversial and tense meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Trump and his deputy, which was accompanied by the humiliation and expulsion of Zelensky from the White House, showed that resolving the Ukrainian crisis was not as easy as Trump had imagined; especially since European countries fully supported Kiev and sought to create a defense fund and a unified European army.
Several phone calls between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin and the subsequent meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries in Riyadh, to which Ukrainian and European officials were not invited, further eroded the Western camp and transatlantic relations.
However, after Zelensky's visit to Saudi Arabia and talks with Riyadh officials and then a meeting with US representatives, a glimmer of hope for resolving this crisis appeared, although Trump's self-serving view of Ukraine's mineral reserves and the $500 billion deal between Trump and Zelensky in this regard cannot be considered ineffective in holding this meeting and repairing relations.
Trump's Dual and Contradictory Policy Towards Iran
Trump, who has repeatedly expressed hope for reaching an agreement with Iran during his second term as president, claimed on February 4, 2025 (16 Bahman 1403) that he was ready to talk to the Iranian president by signing a memorandum to continue the policy of maximum pressure against the Islamic Republic of Iran. Stating that he had "hesitated" to sign the memorandum, he claimed: "This is very difficult for Iran." "I hope we don't have to use it too much." It remains to be seen whether we can reach an agreement with Iran?
The next day, Trump also said on his social network, Truth Social, that his priority is to reach a verifiable nuclear agreement with Iran, saying: "We should start working on it immediately and when this agreement is signed and finalized, we will have a big celebration in the Middle East."
During the first few months of his presidency, Trump has been talking about negotiating and reaching an agreement with Iran, but on May 8, 2018, he unilaterally withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), despite international opposition and Tehran's full adherence to its commitments.
Trump sent a letter to Iran in March through Anwar Gargash, the diplomatic advisor to the president of the United Arab Emirates. “What has been published in the media about the content of Trump’s letter to the Supreme Leader is mostly speculation, and the content of the letter is not far from the public statements of the US president,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told reporters in a press conference on March 17.
Stating that the US “considers dialogue and negotiation merely as a political, propaganda, and psychological tool, and not as a method for resolving disputes,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said that Tehran’s response was also “clear.”
The letter was sent at a time when the Islamic Republic of Iran has repeatedly stated that it does not trust the US and its policies. The reason for Iran’s distrust of US policies quickly became apparent, and on February 8, the US Treasury Department announced that it had imposed new energy, shipping and oil sanctions on Iran, the first sanctions imposed by the Trump administration in its second term following the signing of his anti-Iranian memorandum. The name of the Minister of Oil of the Islamic Republic of Iran also appeared on this list.
Thus, the coincidence of Trump’s letter to Iran with the imposition of heavy sanctions on Tehran presented a clear picture of the main US strategy; this action not only revealed a clear contradiction in Washington’s policy, but also proved once again that the real US goal in proposing negotiations was not understanding, but rather deception of public opinion and increasing pressure.
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