Nicholas Goldberg: America needs to try harder to match its foreign policy to its morals
For those of you who like your politicians to be serious, it isn’t a joke that President Donald Trump is talking about a trade war with China while on his first international trip as president.
There are so many issues in which countries should not — in fact, should not be allowed to — make any trade agreements with the United States, but here we have trade talks and now talks about a trade war between the United States and China.
Trump’s statements during his trip to Asia were intended to give a boost to his campaign promise to bring jobs back to America, which is a noble cause, but also one that requires good judgment to be effective, so I would like to ask a question of President Trump.
You’re making your first appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where you are expected to discuss trade, the economy, and the world’s future. Should we expect a serious discussion about the morality of making a trade war with China and the damage it would do to our global trading system?
We need to match our foreign policy to our morals, and if we don’t, we will continue to lose the world — and ourselves.
China isn’t our enemy, China is not our friend, and they are making it incredibly easy and affordable for our country to make good business deals throughout Latin America and Asia.
It’s also important to consider America’s overall financial situation. The economy is in a very precarious place right now.
We need to do what is right for our own citizens, however, when our country is in need of dollars and goods, it’s all too often that these dollars and goods are going to other countries who are not our friends and allies.
I hope and believe that the Trump administration will continue to do the right thing to help our country and our citizens.
I also hope that more presidents will make themselves available by hosting high-profile economic events such as Davos, but if that’s not happening, maybe it’s time for American presidents
