International Relations: The world is positioning itself for a new US foreign policy

US President Donald Trump initiated a drastic change in US foreign policy in the first hours of his term in office: withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement, withdrawing from the World Health Organization, announcing punitive tariffs and territorial claims to the Panama Canal. Allies and opponents are positioning themselves for this.

Germany: Scholz wants friendship without pandering

Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) initially warned against panicking. “Not every press conference in Washington, not every tweet should plunge us into excited, existential debates. This also applies after the change of government that took place in Washington yesterday,” he said in his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

The Chancellor emphasized his interest in maintaining close relations with the USA. But there should also be no “false ingratiation or talking with others.” In this sense, Scholz once again pointed out the inviolability of borders worldwide – and by this he obviously meant Trump’s territorial claims in Panama, Canada and Greenland. The Chancellor was the first European head of government to openly criticize this a few days ago.

Trump and his government would keep the world in suspense for years, Scholz said, but added: “We can and will deal with all of this.” Close cooperation between Europe and the USA is essential for peace and security worldwide and a driver for successful economic development.

There is a need for coordination in Europe

Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) painted a much bleaker picture of the upcoming Trump era. Its withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement is a “fatal signal” for the world. What is happening in the USA is the beginning of historic failure, said the Green candidate for chancellor at the “Handelsblatt” energy summit in Berlin. “That’s why it wasn’t a good day for Germany, for Europe, for the global community.”

Union Chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz now sees a need for coordination in Europe. “The Europeans must now sit down quickly and discuss two big questions together,” said the CDU chairman on Deutschlandfunk. “First: What are we doing for our own security? This is overdue.” This has been necessary for years. And secondly: How do we strengthen our position in trade with America?”

European Union: Warning of trade war

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also addressed the latter point in Davos and warned Trump against a trade war with Europe, but not without signaling a willingness to negotiate. “There are no other economies in the world that are as closely interconnected as we are,” said the German leader. “The trade volume between us amounts to 1.5 trillion euros, which corresponds to 30 percent of world trade. There is a lot at stake for both sides.”

The EU’s top priority will therefore be to establish contact at an early stage, discuss common interests and be prepared to negotiate. Von der Leyen had already mentioned a new agreement to expand American exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a possible topic in November.

Von der Leyen did not mention Trump’s name in her speech in Davos. It is a thorn in the side of the US President that European companies sell significantly more goods in the USA than American companies in the EU. That’s why he announced during the election campaign that he wanted to introduce new tariffs of 10 to 20 percent on imports. For Chinese goods they should even be 60 percent. In his inaugural speech he confirmed that he wanted to impose tariffs, but had not yet specified his intention. The EU would most likely respond to new US tariffs on European goods with new EU tariffs on imports from the USA.

Ukraine: Zelensky hopes for a just end to the war

Ukrainian head of state Volodymyr Zelensky was convinced in Davos that Trump wanted peace in Ukraine. “And I told him that we are his partners in this,” emphasized Zelensky. The end of the war must not primarily be quick, but rather just and sustainable.

However, there are loud voices in Trump’s environment that are spreading false information or Russian positions, Zelensky warned. That’s why Ukraine needs European help: “It’s important for us that Europe speaks up, that there are more voices around Trump so that he clearly understands the details and risks.”

China and Russia: Xi and Putin coordinate

The two most powerful opponents of the USA positioned themselves together. The heads of state of China and Russia, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, coordinated in a video conference the day after Trump entered the White House, which the Kremlin presented as a routine appointment. On a day like this, a conversation between two of the most powerful men in the world is anything but everyday business, but rather has great symbolic power.

While Trump in Washington advocated America’s claim to supremacy, Chinese head of state Xi Jinping spoke out in favor of a world order based on the rules of the United Nations – which the USA’s Western allies are also in favor of. China and Russia jointly support “a UN-centered international system,” Xi was quoted as saying in Russian media.

Putin praised Russian-Chinese cooperation as a stabilizer in international politics. Both countries agree on “what the relationships between large states should look like.” Russia has been waging a war of aggression against Ukraine that violates international law for almost three years, and Trump wants to end it. The US President has already promised an early conversation with Putin.