Written by: Navinka Ranindiva Lubis

As the embodiment of political democracy, the United States (US) 2024 presidential election is scheduled to take place on November 5th, 2024, in which it features the first rematch since 1956 between President Joe Biden (representing the Democratic Party) and Former-President Donald Trump (representing the Republican Party). Over the course of geopolitical dynamics, the US has certainly become one of the most influential actors in the context of international relations. Therefore, it is arguable that the upcoming election will carry a significant effect on international affairs, especially considering that both parties are bringing  their own contrasting ideas to the table along with their different points of view.

Trade Regulations

As a matter of fact, both Biden and Trump seem to seek protectionist stances when it comes to trade regulations. Yes, their opposing ideas might result in a different approach, but since free trade seems to cause the loss of American manufacturing jobs and factories, it is necessary to create a protective system for trade regulations.

• Trump’s Approach

Referring to his previous administration, Trump’s policies centered on imposing tariffs on imported goods, specifically from China, since he also utilized tariffs as his leverage in negotiating past trade agreements and provoked a trade war with China. Trump also prefers a unilateral approach on trade actions since he typically executed them outside the World Trade Organizations (WTO) channel and seems to have withdrawn the US from several WTO treaties.

Speaking of his plans if he was elected, Trump has proposed a 10% tariff for all foreign goods, with a potential increase to 60% on imports from China specifically. Moreover, Trump also has shown some intentions to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that Biden passed since he thinks it might harm business and benefit foreign countries.

• Biden’s Approach

Biden’s approach focused on creating fair and sustainable trade practices that shall benefit both local workers and the world economy by taking the US into a more assertive stance in international negotiations and passing laws that could protect the local industries. Biden also supports the reformation of WTO to be a more transparent, accountable, and responsive organization and favoring the needs of its state parties. Biden also has been actively negotiating new trade deals with various countries that could promote fairness in trade, such as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF). Therefore, one might conclude that Biden is encouraging a more multilateral approach when it comes to trade regulations that could protect American citizens fairly and accordingly. 

Climate Change

When it comes to climate issues, both parties have a very significant different stance and policy, with descriptions as following:

• Trump’s Stance

Former-President Trump has famously been skeptical of climate change, calling it a “hoax”. During his administration in 2017, he withdrew the US from Paris Agreement 2015, an international treaty that focuses on climate change mitigation, since he also worries it might also harm the US economy. Furthermore, he also aims to cancel Biden’s plans on reducing pollution by limiting the popularization of electric vehicles. Trump also put his focus more on expanding oil and gas drilling and the development of fossil fuels. That being said, Trump’s priority is heavy on economic and business development rather than environmental prosperity.

• Biden’s Stance

Biden’s administration is heavily known for its focus on environmental protection, specifically with his renewable energy infrastructure program. Biden plans on eliminating the use of fossil fuels for electricity by 2035 and bring the country to net-zero emissions of greenhouse gasses before 2050, concretizing the mission in the Paris Agreement. He also aims to establish the Environmental and Climate Justice Division inside the US Department of Justice. However, Biden’s climate policies depend heavily on regulations, which can create uncertainty since the successor might reverse it as they wish.

Stance on Ongoing Issues

• Israel-Palestine

Though the US has been unfortunately active in supporting Israel upon this matter, there are some key differences between both candidates. Donald Trump is the first US President offering unconditional support towards Israel and fully rejecting the two-state solution by shutting down Palestinian delegation’s office in Washington. In addition, Trump does not acknowledge Palestinians’ concerns and casualties and has not made any significant efforts to encourage peace. Instead, Trump has urged Israel to destroy Palestinian resistance group, Hamas. While Biden’s efforts in this matter is very much far from enough either, most US citizens that advocate for Palestine either are Biden’s voters/Democrats, or at least those who follow their non-conservative ideology. Therefore, one might argue that Biden would still consider his supporters’ stance regarding this topic, even though the US as a country has a long historical bond with Israel. In relation to that, though Biden supports Israel’s quote-and-quote rights to defend itself, lately he has shown concern towards Palestinian by calling for an immediate ceasefire, providing humanitarian aid to Gaza, and aims to protect innocent civilians. 

• Russia-Ukraine

The US certainly has a long historical tension with Russia in various contexts. Nonetheless, the stances of Trump and Biden upon this might differ significantly. Trump has an arguably vague and contradictory stance regarding this topic. At first, he admitted  the significance of Ukraine’s survival to US interests. However, later on, he influences congressional Republicans to resist US aid for Ukraine. Though it has happened, the Republican Party seems to have their own schism regarding their stance upon this matter. Trump has also expressed admiration for Putin and has been hostile towards the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). On the contrary, Biden has been consistently endorsing military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine along with economic support. He also wants to coordinate with other G7 nations along with NATO alliances to put an opposing stance against Russian aggression and support Ukraine’s sovereignty. He also has a strong personal affiliation with Ukraine President Zelenskyy.

Bibliography

Arnsdorf, et. al. (2024). Inside Donald Trump’s secret, long-shot plan to end the war in Ukraine. The Washington Post. Retrieved June 18th from  https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/04/05/trump-ukraine-secret-plan. 

Cama & Henry. (2017). Trump Pulls Us Out of Paris Climate Deal. The Hill. Retrieved June 18th from  https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/335955-trump-pulls-us-out-of-paris-climate-deal/. 

Congressional Research Service. (2020). U.S. Role in the World:Background and Issues for Congress. CRS Reports. 

Gypson, Katherine. (2024). Biden, Trump hold different views on key foreign policy issues. VOA News. Retrieved June 18th from https://www.voanews.com/a/biden-trump-on-key-foreign-policy-issues-/7561392.html. 

Jacobo, Julia. (2020). Trump vs. Biden on the issues: Climate change and the environment. ABC News. Retrieved June 18th from  https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-biden-issues-climate-change-environment/story?id=73151337. 

Julien, Garphil. (2024). Trump vs Biden: Who Got More Done on Trade?. Washington Monthly. Retrieved June 16th from https://washingtonmonthly.com/2024/04/07/trump-vs-biden-who-got-more-done-on-trade/. 

Olson, Stephen. (2020). US Trade Policy Under Biden: Will it Differ from Trump?. Retrieved June 16th from  https://www.hinrichfoundation.com/research/article/us-china/us-trade-policy-biden/. 

Piccioto, Rebecca. (2024). Trump floats more than 60% tariffs on Chinese imports. CNBC. Retrieved June 16th from  https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/04/trump-floats-more-than-60percent-tariffs-on-chinese-imports.html. 

Prasad, Ajnesh. (2019). Denying Anthropogenic Climate Change: Or, How Our Rejection of Objective Reality Gave Intellectual Legitimacy to Fake News. Sociological Forum. 34. 1217-1234. 10.1111/socf.12546. 

Reuters. (2024). Donald Trump says Ukraine’s survival is important to the US. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/donald-trump-says-ukraines-survival-is-important-us-2024-04-18/. 

Rifaat, Alexander. (2023). I’ll Scrap IRA Tax Credits on Day 1, Trump Says. Tax Notes. Retrieved June 16th from   https://www.taxnotes.com/featured-news/ill-scrap-ira-tax-credits-day-1-trump-says/2023/09/28/7hdjq

Saad, Lydia. (2023). Democrats Sympathies in the Middle East Shift to Palestinians. Gallup. Retrieved June 18th from https://news.gallup.com/poll/472070/democrats-sympathies-middle-east-shift-palestinians.aspx. 

Schwennesen, Paul. (2024). Why US Republicans are split on aid for Ukraine. GIS Reports. Retrieved June 18th from  https://www.gisreportsonline.com/r/republican-schism-ukraine/. 

United States Trade Representative. (2024). USTR Releases President Biden’s 2024 Trade Policy Agenda and 2023 Annual Report. USTR. Retrieved June 16th from   https://ustr.gov/about-us/policy-offices/press-office/press-releases/2024/march/ustr-releases-president-bidens-2024-trade-policy-agenda-and-2023-annual-report. 

Wang & Gomez. (2024). At G7, Biden to push $50B loan to Ukraine using frozen Russian assets. ABC News. Retrieved June 18th 2024 from https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/g7-biden-push-50b-loan-ukraine-frozen-russian/story?id=111055667. 

Wilkinson, Tracy. (2024). Biden vs. Trump on Israel-Palestinians-Middle East. LA Times. Retrieved June 18th 2024 from https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2024-06-12/biden-trump-on-israel-palestinians-middle-east. 

Wiseman, Paul. (2024). Trump or Biden? Either way, US Seems Poised to Preserve Heavy Tariffs on Imports. AP News. Retrieved June 16th 2024 from https://apnews.com/article/trump-biden-trade-tariffs-china-inflation-1c17b1d223080b7a594326905380845a. 

World Politics Review. (2024). U.S. Foreign Policy under Biden. WPR. Retrieved June 16th 2024 from https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/biden-us-foreign-policy/.