Questions galore about Trump's strategic priorities

The strategic priorities in the economic domain will remain highly challenging because of Trump's limited understanding of the patterns of global economic growth and its direct correlation to the US economy.

- ARVIND KUMAR

The US President-elect Donald Trump's second term undoubtedly will start in a completely different geopolitical and geo-economic setting in comparison to his first term. The world is witnessing unstoppable conflicts-Russia-Ukraine, Israel-Hamas. Global economic stress remains another factor for Trump in comprehending the larger challenges in evolving his strategic priorities. The slowing down of the global economy has put a greater risk for the US economy in managing inflation domestically.

During his election campaign, Trump had made a highly inflated statement that he would end the Russia-Ukraine conflict within "24 hours" by bringing together Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for dialogue and negotiation. But this seems far from the reality in the current geopolitical situation. On the other hand, Trump's recent affirmation that the Israel-Hamas conflict is more complicated but easier to resolve also looks like an understatement because of the emergence of newer dynamics in Syria and the associated challenges. Trump will keep attempting to underscore his priorities in both the ongoing conflicts.

The strategic priorities in the economic domain will remain highly challenging because of Trump's limited understanding of the patterns of global economic growth and its direct correlation to the US economy.

There is now a renewed debate on Trump's idea of enhancing tariff and how that would lead to a second trade war with China.