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🇪🇸 Spain /Elections & Politics

How to Be Trump’s Ally and Survive the Attempt

From La Vanguardia · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Analysis Named sources Context piece
  • Donald Trump has raised the cost of the security, economic and political relationship traditionally offered by the United States to its allies, the article argues.
  • Argentina’s Javier Milei seized on Trump’s remarks about Washington’s position on the Falkland Islands to intensify Argentina’s sovereignty claim.
  • The article says Trump has strained ties with South Korea, Canada and the United Kingdom while pursuing a more transactional approach to alliances.

For decades, the United States offered its allies safe passage at sea, a stable dollar and protection for property rights. In return, they bought American weapons and energy and helped provide cheap financing by purchasing large quantities of U.S. Treasury bonds.

Under Donald Trump, that arrangement has ended, the article argues. Trump still wants allies to keep buying from Washington, but he has made the price of friendship higher. He governs through displays of absolute power, is prone to bad moods and can abruptly change course.

Javier Milei recognized one such opening. On Monday, Trump said the United States was reviewing Washington’s traditional position on the Falkland Islands. That position had meant theoretical neutrality over sovereignty, combined with de facto support for the British presence on the islands. Milei understood that Trump’s remarks gave him room to raise the volume of Argentina’s long-running claim over territory disputed by Argentina and the United Kingdom.

a very good relationship

· Donald TrumpTrump’s description of his relationship with Kim Jong Un.

The article presents Trump’s treatment of South Korea, Canada and Britain as evidence of his willingness to punish old allies. He reduced military exercises with South Korea to avoid upsetting Kim Jong Un, with whom he says he has “a very good relationship,” weakening ties with a democratic and prosperous Asian state while favoring a nuclear-armed authoritarian power.

Canada, meanwhile, faced U.S. efforts to limit its ability to sign trade agreements with other countries and remove protections for French, one of its official languages. Britain has received what the article calls the “pirate’s manual” for the new era. Trump has criticized the British for not buying more U.S. weapons and for staying out of the war against Iran. His administration has also opposed efforts by Andy Burnham to move closer to Brussels, while U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer asked why Britain would not accept goods made to American standards and use the freedom created by Brexit. Trump’s Falklands comments have added another problem for Burnham, who believes Brexit has harmed the British economy.

Why don’t they liberalize a little and accept products made according to American standards? Why don’t they use the freedom Brexit gives them?

· Jamieson GreerThe U.S. trade representative criticized Britain’s trade approach in comments to the Financial Times.
About this summary

Originally published by La Vanguardia in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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