President Joe Biden took office with an ambitious foreign policy agenda summed up by his favorite campaign tagline: “America is back.” Above all, that will mean repairing the damage done to America’s global standing by his predecessor, former President Donald Trump. During his four years in office, Trump strained ties with America’s allies in Europe and Asia, raised tensions with adversaries like Iran and Venezuela, and engaged in a trade war with China that left bilateral relations in their worst state in decades.
Biden’s agenda is rooted in a repudiation of Trump’s “America First” legacy and the restoration of the multilateral order, reflected in his early moves to rejoin the Paris Climate Accords and the World Health Organization. The COVID-19 pandemic offers Biden a unique opportunity to reassert America’s global leadership role and begin repairing ties that began to fray under Trump. He is also attempting to sell greater international engagement to Americans with his vision of a “foreign policy for the middle class,” which ties U.S. diplomacy to peace, security and prosperity at home.
Despite the multi-front effort, Biden may find it difficult to fully restore a pre-Trump status quo. Countries may no longer be willing to follow the U.S. lead on democracy promotion after the erosion of America’s democratic norms during the Trump era. And Europe, in particular, has recalibrated its relationship with the United States and may no longer be willing to align with America’s approach, particularly the hardening of relations with China and Russia.
It’s not certain that Biden is determined to return to the status quo ante, in any case. He has already taken advantage of early opportunities to set his own agenda, with his announcement that the U.S. will finally withdraw its military from Afghanistan this year as a prominent example. And on other issues—like Trump’s controversial tariffs on European steel and aluminum imports, his approach to Cuba and his immigration and border policies—Biden has not demonstrated any urgency to make immediate changes.
Defining his own broader foreign policy vision has also initially taken a back seat to addressing critical challenges that require immediate attention. That includes engaging with Iran over its nuclear programs and addressing the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Venezuela.
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