Opinion | Donald Trump’s policy mood swings and trade chaos are making world leaders weary

China refuses to back down, Japan studiously avoids affronts and Europe vacillates between facing off and ignoring Trump altogether

With elections looming, the US president will only become more unpredictable, and the risk is that exasperated world leaders may be tempted to follow suit

Reading Time:3 minutes

The focus is on US President Donald Trump and the summit host, French President Emmanuel Macron, as G7 and EU leaders get together for a working session on international economy, trade and security, in Biarritz on August 25. Photo: AFP

Published: 1:00am, 2 Sep 2019Updated: 1:24am, 2 Sep 2019

First he says he will, then he says he won’t, though in the end he might. Welcome to another dizzying episode of Trumplandia, featuring an array of contradictory policy announcements from the mercurial US president.

First he raised China tariffs, then had second thoughts which morphed into wishing he’d raised them even more, all the while calling Chinese President Xi Jinping an “enemy”, and then wanting a deal.

After 2½ difficult years, world leaders appear increasingly weary of Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again approach, which poses significant problems for US foreign policy and global affairs, as countries increasingly avoid the US in pursuit of their own short-term gains.

As world leaders adapt to Trump’s confusion as a negotiating tactic, three broad strategies have emerged to deal with the chaos he creates – ambivalence, confrontation and appeasement. Each has worked to varying degrees, yet none will lead to lasting agreements.

Strategic patience may give way to greater policy volatility, which will do nothing to help calm jitters over a possible global recession, avoid potential military conflict, or stem a rising nationalistic tide that threatens peace and prosperity.

Beijing, at one end of the spectrum, is going toe-to-toe with Washington in escalating tensions – tariffs for tariffs, entity list for entity list.