President Trump’s active trade and immigration policies are undermining relations that have been the cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy to resist China’s growing influence and erode years of diplomatic investment that spans the administration.
The latest fracture was Friday when hundreds of South Korean workers were detained at a modern manufacturing plant in Georgia, a facility for closer economic ties between the two countries. Some workers who are under investigation for visa issues are tied up.
Government officials insist that trade will not be affected, but foreign policy analysts have noticed the deteriorating relationship with the alarm. Instead of following the traditional wisdom of establishing a coalition as a fortress for China, Trump revels in holding screws on friends and enemies.
“If the United States is separated from the region, allies are developing a defender program,” said Zack Cooper, a senior fellow at the American Corporate Academy, who is studying U.S. strategy in Asia. “Some partners hedge by building better relationships with China.”
Despite Trump’s cordial friendship with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his ties with India have also remained calm. Republican Trump imposed tariffs on India as punishment for buying Russian oil during the Ukrainian war, and he is getting closer to rival Pakistan.
Modi recently filmed at a security summit in Tianjin with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, prompting Trump’s social media poke.
“It seems we have lost the deepest, darkest, China in India and Russia,” he wrote. “May they have a long and prosperous future together!”
Recent issues may be blown away. Trump called Modi “my good friend” when announcing trade talks between the two countries and will continue to be in a social position in truth. “I will certainly not have any difficulties in reaching the conclusion that success is achieved for our two great nations,” he wrote.
Modi responded by calling the two countries “close friends and natural partners” and said he was “confident that our trade negotiations will pave the way for unlocking the unlimited potential of the India-U.S. partnership.”
But concerns among Asian countries may not be temporary, especially if Trump’s skeptical view of foreign engagement will continue after he no longer serves.
“Most countries in the region believe that Washington’s protectionist policies, unilateral tendencies and greater suspicion of overseas participation will surpass the Trump administration,” Cooper said.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington said in a statement that the country never participates in “a zero-sum geopolitical confrontation where one wins and the other fails”, but is “committed to maintaining world peace, stability and development, and sharing development opportunities with countries around the world.”
Trump occasionally talks strongly about China, risking a trade war between the world’s largest economy and the second largest economy that declared high tariffs. However, both sides withdrew from the confrontation, and Trump has been committed to seeking summits with Xi Jinping.
At a meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the State Department said the two sides agreed to explore areas of potential cooperation while seeking management differences.
The tension between Trump and Modi is particularly surprising given Trump’s first term. However, Modi refused to indulge in Trump’s efforts announced by a recent ceasefire between India and Pakistan, although Pakistan has nominated Trump for his desire for the Nobel Peace Prize.
In addition, India was arrested for Trump’s efforts to resolve Russian invasion of Ukraine. In order to put indirect pressure on Moscow, Trump’s tariffs on India’s purchase of Russian oil increased during the war.
President Joe Biden’s Eric Garcetti, who served as U.S. ambassador to India, said the time for British diplomacy would not be revoked, but said “a lot of damage can be done”, warning that if India and us were not on the same page, it would be a “very lonely world”.
“This is one of the most critical relationships between our success and the world,” he said.
Rick Rossow, senior adviser to Indian and emerging Asian economics at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, said U.S.-India relations are at “low points,” but “a moment like this always feels that they are more important than they are actually.”
But tensions could endanger Trump’s planned visit to India, attending the summit, which also includes leaders from Japan and Australia. The strategic group, known as the Quad, is seen as a mechanism to boycott Beijing’s military and political influence in the region.
The raid at the modern factory is a highly public display of the Trump administration’s willingness to enforce its aggressive immigration policy, even if it incurs economic costs, sparking anger and a sense of betrayal in South Korea, less than two weeks after the White House meeting between Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae Jae Jae Myung.
“Because anti-American sentiment is clearly rising, because anti-American sentiment is clearly rising,” said Bong Youngshik, a professor at Yonsei University in Seoul.
Trump urged Seoul to expand U.S. industrial investment, but there is no visa system to support enough skilled workers to build new manufacturing facilities.
“Koreans are increasingly aware that the U.S. is engaged in bullying, which is not only about the situation, but also with their active efforts to increase tariffs,” Bong said. “It’s generally believed that it’s taking things too far.”
Bong said the question would remain a “tick time bomb” and that “it would be extremely difficult for South Korean companies to send their employees to the United States.”
