Former US president Donald Trump’s speech at the Republican National Convention on July 18 to accept the party’s presidential nomination was aimed at reshaping his image for the electorate and stressing the importance of “making America great again” in the face of rising geopolitical risks. The Republican nominee spoke about some of his key policies, such as raising tariffs, easing inflation, cutting interest rates and canceling subsidies, all major policy shifts should he win the November election.
Regarding the geopolitical risks — such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Israel’s war in Gaza and potential conflicts in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea — Trump described a world in chaos, saying that bolstering the US military would be an effective deterrent to prevent international crises from escalating.
Trump’s remarks imply that US military spending would expand and, as he says he cares about who owes the US money, Washington’s international allies would be under increased pressure to buy more weapons from the US. With this in mind, Taipei must pay attention to whether the weapons it buys meet Trump’s expectations should he return to office, even while not being sure if his support for Taiwan would be guaranteed or under what conditions. In contrast, US President Joe Biden has said on several occasions he would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack.
In his speech, Trump also sought to highlight the differences between his economic policies and Biden’s, such as the latter’s green energy policies. Trump said he would cancel subsidies for wind power, solar energy and electric vehicles, while increasing oil drilling to bring down prices, which means his administration would largely lessen its support for the green energy industry in terms of policy and funding support.
In addition, Trump in his first term relaxed many environmental regulations that negatively affected the green energy industry. Any further relaxation of carbon emission restrictions should Trump take office might reduce the incentive for corporations to switch to renewable energy sources, affecting the promotion and implementation of green energy technology. As the industry needs a stable policy environment for long-term investment and development, any uncertainty would affect investor confidence and market expectations, as well as the business outlook for the industry.
To tackle inflation, Trump pledged to bring down interest rates, which are set by the US Federal Reserve, an agency that historically acts independently of the White House. Once interest rates are lowered, high mortgage rates are bound to drop as well, which would increase US housing affordability and inject life into the sluggish US real-estate industry. In his speech, Trump also vowed to pursue tax cuts, higher tariffs and increase the deportation of undocumented immigrants.
New developments are emerging almost daily after Biden on July 21 announced his withdrawal from the race and called for the Democratic Party to support US Vice President Kamala Harris as the party’s presidential nominee. In the past few days, Harris has gained ground in polls, with some even suggesting her support exceeds Trump’s, adding uncertainty as to the outcome in November, which is one of the reasons behind a recent market rout.
Nonetheless, if Trump returns to the presidency, his policy direction in the next four years would be starkly different from Biden’s, which warrants greater attention from Taiwan’s government and businesses. On the other hand, no matter how Trump might change US policy if elected, his main priority would be stimulating the US economy and enhancing national power.
Policy changes and market turmoil are inevitable, but businesses and industries that follow in step with the US economy would eventually benefit.
A provisional arrangement between China and the Philippines, intended to smooth their troubles in the South China Sea, has quickly unraveled. Now more than ever, Manila and the international community need to call Beijing’s “gray zone” activities in the contested waters what they are: Illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive. It would bring further transparency to a situation that has the potential to turn into a major global flashpoint. The moniker, known as ICAD, was first coined by a Philippine general. Gray zone activities refer to provocative actions that are not so egregious they would demand a warlike response, but neither are
US President Joe Biden’s historic decision on July 21 to take his name out of the running for a second term has upended expectations for this year’s presidential election in the US. A listlessness regarding a rematch of the same two candidates from four years ago has transformed into an explosion of excitement around US Vice President Kamala Harris as the presumptive Democratic nominee. Within days and even hours, record-breaking donations flowed into the Harris campaign’s coffers, while memes about coconuts and Harris being “brat” flooded social media. What seemed to be an uphill battle for Democrats less than two weeks
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Former US president Donald Trump’s speech at the Republican National Convention on July 18 to accept the party’s presidential nomination was aimed at reshaping his image for the electorate and stressing the importance of “making America great again” in the face of rising geopolitical risks. The Republican nominee spoke about some of his key policies, such as raising tariffs, easing inflation, cutting interest rates and canceling subsidies, all major policy shifts should he win the November election. Regarding the geopolitical risks — such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Israel’s war in Gaza and potential conflicts in the Taiwan Strait and South