How Trump’s New Policies Will Harm Australia — and the World

Breaking records can sometimes be seen as innovative and exciting. 

However, in this case, Trump’s shattering of previously held number of executive actions initiated on the first day of his presidency is not thrilling or compelling for America’s future. 

Instead, it highlights just how much this ‘powerful nation’ could crumble in a matter of weeks, months, or years under the tyrannical dictatorship of the new Republican POTUS. 

And the worst part? The announcements by the self-proclaimed ‘dictator on the first day’ are likely to mean that the rest of the world can’t possibly escape the far-reaching consequences of the concerning, freedom-stripping, and insane executive orders. 

Even in the farthest corner of the world here in Australia, we are not out of the firing line of the new man in office. 

Trump’s New Policies 

Trump foreshadowed the arrival of the high number of executive orders by claiming that his number one goal was to prompt the ‘revolution of common sense’ — which is a satirical and ironic comment coming from a person who made more than 30,000 false claims in his first stint as President.

After stating that the first intention of his new reign is to rescind dozens of executive orders carried out by the former president, the Democrat Joe Biden.

To sum up the overall purpose of his leadership, he aims to focus his new orders on ‘protecting’ the southern border from further immigration and refugees seeking asylum, ending Biden’s climate policies that push towards a greener future, and ending the recognising of more than two sexes in American ideology, further diminishing and removing basic human rights from those who identify as non-binary, transgender, or gender non-conforming. 

Furthermore, Trump pardoned almost 1,600 people from criminal or civil convictions after storming the U.S. Capitol building three years ago, an unbelievable occurrence that brought into question the real security of the nation, publicity stunts carried out by the President, and the stability of the Republican/radical people in the country at the time. 

As if this wasn’t the only inconceivable order in the first 24 hours of Trump being in charge, but he also declared the ‘situation’ at the southern border of the United States a ‘national emergency’. 

The current President has been recognised around the world for his divisive hate speech, discrimination, and racism that is extremely dangerous and insulting to women, different ethnic groups, and people of varying religions.

By claiming the border as a target for the unwanted immigration into the United States — unwanted by his supporters — he directly puts a target on those coming into the country to seek refuge, claiming that those entering the country are ‘smugglers, human traffickers, and known terrorists.’ 

Lastly, one of Trump’s most controversial executive orders on the first day involves withdrawing America — one of the countries previously thought of as a world superpower — from the World Health Organisation. Just like in his first stint in presidency, he signed an order to remove the country from the Paris Agreement, a treaty created to stall climate change and slow global warming. 

How Trump’s New Economic Policies Affect Australia

Not only will the new president’s policies affect the way in which the world thinks of America, and how they will want to work with, or work against, them in the future, but the repercussions of Trump’s economic policies directly influence Asia and Oceania. 

Trump has already created a 25% tariff on China and Mexico by February, which is just one week away. Although there was no direct tariff declaration for Australia, Australia’s trade and business with China means that the country will be directly affected by the increase in prices. Not only does this affect our country’s export and import prices, but this is a direct slap in the face to Australia’s leaders, as it contradicts the previously set Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement.

In short, higher prices on goods the United States imports can trickle down to negatively affect Australia’s economy, commodities, agricultural industry, and Chinese exports. Even though the immediate price changes within the US might not influence Australia in the short-term, the price increases can lead to a disruption in the supply chain, Australian dollar value depreciation, and strained relations with China.

Trump’s Blatant Refusal to Take the Environmental Crisis Seriously

Not only does Trump’s immediate economic policies affect Australia, but his refusal to be a part of the Paris Agreement and rollback on dozens of environmental policies show that he is not willing to focus the country’s time, energy, or resources on collaborating with other countries to slow down global warming.

However, Albanese is steadfast that Trump pulling out of the Paris Agreement is concerning for the world, but it will not affect Australia — Australia is a sovereign nation that will continue fighting against the extreme weather events which have plagued the world within the last decade. 

The New President Elect Divides Australia

Despite Trump’s new policies being a clear hindrance to Australia in the future, even our country’s governmental leaders are divided on the topic of Trump being in charge of the United States yet again. Shockingly, there are some higher-ups within the government that are happy the fascist has regained power in America. 

Greens Leader, Adam Bandt, understood that Trump’s new environmental policies and pull-out of the global agreement indicates that his decisions are a ‘danger to democracy and a danger to the climate’. On the other side, Queensland senator Matt Canavan recommended that Australia pull out of the climate agreement — for the sheer fact that Trump could raise prices that could harm Australia;s economy. 

Similarly, Wong, the foreign affairs minister, hopes to keep America as an ally and continue ‘working together with the new Administration’, along with ‘advocating for Australia’s interest’ in foreign trade agreements. But, when it came to the discriminatory statements Trump made during his first day in office, she refused to pass comment. 

Even more shocking than turning a blind eye to Trump’s fascist and dictatorial statements is supporting the new President. United Australia party senator Ralph Babet is a vocal supporter who seems to have had the wool pulled over his eyes by the leader famous for his hate speech.

So, if Australia’s leaders are divided by the extremely problematic and dangerous American leader, this can indicate future fights, disagreements, and turmoil within Australia itself. 

Will Trump’s New Policies Affect the Entire World? Yes — Here’s How  

President Trump’s new policies not only directly affect Australia, but they have widespread and potentially long-lasting effects on the rest of the globe — and they could happen sooner than you might think.

First, Trump’s unnecessary trade war with China led to exorbitant tariffs on numerous commodities and products, like medical equipment and solar panels. The 25% tariffs on Chinese imported goods had a disproportionate impact on lower-income households who are looking to cut costs by purchasing low-priced imported goods. Not only has this harmed the low-income households in the United States, but it led to economic unrest, disturbance in the world trading system, and lower levels of productivity, leading to a reduced number of exports. 

Second, Trump has made it extremely clear that he blames immigrants, asylum seekers, and refugees for almost every single problem in the U.S. economy — a blanket statement that not only vilified people unfairly, but has led to extremist policies regarding immigration and border control. His crackdown led to higher tariffs to both Mexico and CAnada, which can lead to strained relationships in the long term. 

Lastly, his sanctions for those who were involved in the Capitol infiltration might be the least of the country’s concerns. He could use a record-breaking number of sanctions for foreign governments or entities to strongarm countries into following his orders. The world should be scared that the new president could extend his sanctions to countries such as North Korea and Russia. 

Trump in Charge is Detrimental to The Entire World 

Australia will have to alter the way in which we collaborate with the United States in the future if the next four years are going to be controlled by a fascist dictator. When Biden was President, negotiations, deals, and commitments were possible. With Trump as the leader (again), there is no chance that Australia can reason with the United States in terms of economic deals, environmental policies, or trade agreements. 

Thus, Albanese, and the rest of the Australian government, will have to learn how to be on the same page when it comes to how to mitigate the damaging effects of American dictatorial rule.