Trump, executive order-tsunami and the change of the world order 

Donald Trump has been in power only for about a week and the world is already in turmoil. At the last count he has issued 17 executive orders, in a frenzied attempt to fulfil all his campaign promises within a week. All of a sudden, he seems to be ruling America as a sole administrator or autocrat. He seems to have acquired total executive and legislative powers and he seems determined to tear America apart and shred the world to pieces. No American leader in recent history has taken such drastic actions as he has taken in only one week of being in office and no world leader has done so much within so short time to disturb world order and peace.

He promised to undo Obamacare in his first day at work. He has tried with an executive order, which I am told, is causing so much confusion with healthcare insurance and funding in the United States. He then took America away from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a trading partnership between 12 countries – Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, USA and Vietnam, which President Obama was working to get the congress to approve. Then he turned to dismember The North American Free Trade Agreement ( NAFTA) which is a free trade zone carrying more than one trillion dollar trade a year between Canada, Mexico and the USA. He then followed up with his long outstanding threat to issue an executive order to begin the building of ‘the wall’ on the border with Mexico, insisting that Mexico would pay for the wall. When Mexico replied that they would not pay, Trump promised a 20% tax on all imports from Mexico to which Mexico retorted that they would pass the tax to American consumers.

Then came the damnest of all the executive orders being manufactured daily from the Oval Office in the White House – the executive order on immigration and refugees. First he banned refugees from any part of the world for 120 days. He banned refugees from Syria indefinitely. He then banned citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States for 90 days in the first instance. Syria, Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Libya, Sudan and Somalia were blacklisted and it is speculated that the ban may expand to include other countries, especially in Africa. It may not be far-fetched to see Nigeria on this list! Following from this ban which took immediate effect from last Friday, the world went into utter confusion. Green card holders who arrived the USA on the day the order was made were detained and prevented from entering the country, until the courts intervened. Indeed the order stated that all those with permanent residence visas (Green card) will have to be reviewed on a case- by case basis before they could be re admitted into the country henceforth. In several airports in the US, there was commotion and then protests by citizens against this kind of draconian order. Many families became separated. Travellers from the affected nations were forcefully removed from aircrafts while in transit and others were prevented from boarding at all. Never in recent history has the world been shaken from coast to coast.

Of course several world leaders have openly criticized and condemned many of these executive orders that tend to re-write the world order. Many of them are concerned that the repercussions and consequences of this ‘America First policy’, the dislocation of international trading partnerships, and the outright discrimination against nations on the basis of religion may portend grave dangers for the world. Personally I wonder if President Trump and his team have fully considered the consequences of their actions. On the surface, there is nothing wrong with an ‘America First’ policy, if it seeks to make America put its interest first in its relationship with the other nations or the rest of the world. But first, who determines America’s interest? The President and his team, the Congress or the citizens? The protests that followed Trump’s inauguration and his series of executive orders indicate that a size-able proportion of the citizens do not agree with the President. It is important to note that Trump lost the popular vote in the last elections and became President, thanks to the America’s unique Electoral College system. I have heard even those who voted for him openly disagree with some of these executive orders which seem to have supplanted the functions of Congress.

Secondly, is Trump aware that other nations have the right to retaliate, just as Iran has just done by banning Americans from coming into Iran. What will be the impact on the several business men who are doing business in Iran, Iraq and Libya for example? Many American companies are involved in rebuilding these post-conflict nations. What will be the impact on the American economy? Thirdly, is Trump aware that trade is a two-way traffic? You are either selling or buying or doing both. If he pulls America out of every trade partnership or organization, does he realize that American businesses and consumers will lose some benefits? Is he aware that he is working to slow down the American economy? The Global economy is so complicated that any bridging at one point may result in shocks that can destabilize the entire system and America may be the bigger victim. Is he aware that some of his orders may contradict international laws and conventions like the Geneva Convention on refugees?

The fourth is that all these protectionist and isolationist policies will undermine global prosperity as there is ample evidence that globalization has brought greater development and prosperity to the world. Humongous investments have been made by global organizations on the basis that they are serving a global market. Much investment into research and innovation has been spurred by the existence of a global market. But with America resorting to breaking up this global market space, the consequences are frightening. Fifthly, has President Trump considered the potential for his patently discriminatory and humiliating actions to elicit further rise in Islamic fundamentalism? When any group of people feel that they are unjustly treated, discriminated against or mistreated, history shows that they become more deviant in their behaviour. I doubt if these actions will not worsen global terrorism rather than curtail it.

Finally I am concerned that America may be abdicating global leadership. If it cuts off trade with many countries at a time China is aggressively pushing to open trading frontiers across the world, it may soon lose global economic leadership to China, which today is already the second largest economy in the world. By threatening to withdraw from NATO, it may lose its Military leadership of the free world to Germany. Already, it is almost loosing political leadership to Russia.  It was pathetic to see America stand as an observer while Russia and Iran were conducting a recent conference on the Syrian debacle.

America may be unwittingly yielding global leadership to China and Russia as it runs its new policy of ‘America First’ which currently sounds more as “America alone”. No one can lead others when it is isolated in its own world? No one can lead or influence other nations when it only seeks its own and is unwilling to make sacrifices for other people or nations. Leadership is influence. And no one can successfully lead other people standing alone in its space. I just hope that America’s light of global leadership is not about to eclipse so early on the watch of the 45th President of the United States of America-Donald J.Trump.

Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa OFR