US President Donald Trump’s aggressive trade and immigration policies are undermining relationships that have been cornerstones of US foreign policy to counter China’s growing influence, eroding years of diplomatic investments spanning administrations.
The latest fracture came on 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.
Illustration: Louise Ting
“Treaty allies are developing fallback options if the United States disengages from the region,” said Zack Cooper, a senior fellow at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute, where he studies US strategy in Asia. “Some partners are hedging by cultivating better relationships with China.”
Ties with India have also 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 has grown closer with Pakistan, a bordering rival.
Modi was recently photographed with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) during a security summit in Tianjin, China, 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 is 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.”
However, concerns among Asian nations might not be temporary, especially if there is a sense that Trump’s skeptical view of foreign engagement will linger after he is 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 that 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.
After a meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) over the summer, the US Department of State said that both sides “agreed to explore areas of potential cooperation, while seeking to manage differences.”
The tension between Trump and Modi has been particularly surprising given their closeness during Trump’s first term.
However, Modi has declined to indulge Trump’s attempt to claim credit for brokering a recent ceasefire between India and Pakistan, although Pakistan has nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize that he covets.
In addition, India has been caught in the crossfire of Trump’s efforts to resolve the Russian invasion of Ukraine. To put indirect pressure on Moscow, Trump increased tariffs on India for buying Russian oil during the war.
Eric Garcetti, who served as US ambassador to India under former US president Joe Biden, said that years of diplomacy would not be reversed, but said “a lot of damage can be done,” and he warned that it would be a “very lonely world” if India and US are not on the same page.
“This is one of the most critical relationships for our success and for the world,” he said.
Rick Rossow, a senior adviser focused on India and emerging Asia economics at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that the US-India relationship is at “a low point,” but “such moments always feel like they are more significant than they actually are.”
However, tensions could jeopardize a planned visit by Trump to India to attend a summit that would also include leaders from Japan and Australia. The strategic grouping, known as the Quad, is viewed as a mechanism to counter Beijing’s military and political influences in the region.
The raid at the Hyundai facility stands out as a highly public display of the Trump administration’s willingness to enforce its aggressive immigration policy, even if it also comes at an economic cost, sparking anger and a sense of betrayal in South Korea, less than two weeks after a White House meeting between Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung.
“Damage has already been done as anti-American sentiment is clearly on the rise,” said Bong Youngshik, a professor at Seoul’s Yonsei University, citing public shock in South Korea over the detentions and US authorities releasing video showing the workers being chained and taken away.
Trump has pushed Seoul to expand US industrial investments, but without a visa system to support enough skilled workers to establish new manufacturing facilities.
“There’s a growing perception among South Koreans that the United States is engaging in bullying behavior, not only about this case but also with their aggressive push to increase tariffs,” Bong said. “There’s a widespread feeling that it is taking things too far.”
The issue would remain a “ticking time bomb” and “it will become extremely difficult for South Korean companies to send their employees to the United States,” Bong said.
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