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Donald Trump's 2017 inauguration
ChinaDiplomacy

What to watch out for in Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office

Ankit Panda says the US president’s early moves on trade and his first contacts with government leaders will set the course for his administration’s foreign policy

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US President Donald Trump salutes participants during the inaugural parade in Washington on Friday. Photo: Reuters
Ankit Panda

In the two months or so since Donald Trump’s unexpected victory in the US presidential election, there has been quite a bit of speculation as to the foreign policies his government will pursue once in power.

As a candidate, Trump, when he did address issues of foreign policy, vacillated and often switched positions, with the exception of trade. After his inauguration on Friday, Trump’s actual plans for US foreign policy remain mostly unclear.

There are, however, two primary areas that interested observers of US foreign policy should watch closely in the new administration’s first 100 days as the United States prepares for a change in the presidency unlike any in recent history.

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First, for a Trump administration, foreign policy may well be secondary to and borne of economic policy, so watch for early declarations and executive branch moves on economic and trade policy. For instance, Trump has said he will put an end to US participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal on his very first day in office.
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Key appointments by the Trump transition team suggest that Trump’s rhetoric on trade is poised to become a reality, portending a possible trade war with China. Peter Navarro, an economist at the University of California at Irvine, provides analytical ballast to Trump’s “America First” economic thinking.

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