President Donald Trump’s aggressive trade and immigration policies are undermining relationships that have been cornerstones of American foreign policy to counter China’s growing influence, eroding years of diplomatic investments spanning administrations.
The latest fracture came Friday, when hundreds of South Korean workers were detained at a Hyundai manufacturing plant in Georgia, a facility that had been a showcase for closer economic ties between the two countries. Some of the workers, who were being investigated for visa issues, were shackled.
Administration officials insist that trade will not be impacted, but foreign policy analysts have watched deteriorating relationships with alarm. Instead of following the conventional wisdom of building coalitions as a bulwark against China, Trump has reveled in turning the screws on friend and foe alike.
“Treaty allies are developing fallback options if the United States disengages from the region,” said Zack Cooper, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he studies U.S. strategy in Asia. “Some partners are hedging by cultivating better relationships with China.”
Ties with India also have cooled despite a previously cordial friendship between Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Trump, a Republican, imposed tariffs on India as punishment for buying Russian oil during the war in Ukraine, and he’s grown closer with Pakistan, a bordering rival.
Modi was recently photographed with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping during a security summit in Tianjin, prompting a social media jab from Trump.
“Looks like we’ve lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China,” he wrote. “May they have a long and prosperous future together!”
It’s possible that recent spats could blow over. Trump called Modi “my very good friend” when announcing trade talks between the two countries would continue in a Truth Social post. “I feel certain that there will be no difficulty in coming to a successful conclusion for both of our Great Countries,” 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 limitless potential of the India-US partnership.”
But concerns among Asian nations may not be temporary, especially if there’s a sense that Trump’s skeptical view of foreign engagement will linger after he’s no longer in office.
“Most countries in the region believe that Washington’s protectionist policies, unilateral tendencies and greater skepticism of overseas engagement will outlast the Trump administration,” Cooper said.
In a statement, the Chinese embassy in Washington said the country never engages “in zero-sum games or geopolitical confrontations where one wins and the other loses” but “is committed to maintaining world peace, stability and development, sharing development opportunities with countries around the world.”
Trump has occasionally talked tough toward China, and he risked a trade war between the world’s first and second largest economies by announcing steep tariffs. However, both sides have stepped back from that confrontation, and Trump has been focused on seeking a summit with Xi.
