U.S.-Russia Relations

Breaking Down the U.S.-Russia Negotiations: Trump’s Energy Encirclement and Putin’s Geopolitical Red Lines Trump’s Economic Cards: Energy Is the Key Weapon When Trump negotiated tariffs with major oil-importing nations like Europe, Japan, and South Korea, only two concrete measures were implemented: adjusting tariff rates and requiring them to purchase U.S. energy. Those investment agreements, often worth hundreds of billions of dollars, were largely for show and held little practical binding force. ...

I. The Fundamental Contradiction of Trump’s Economic Reforms The “small government, big business” reforms promoted by Trump represent, in essence, a complete reversal of the U.S. economic development model of the past 17 years. Following the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis, the U.S. economy became heavily reliant on federal government debt-fueled stimulus, achieving economic growth through the excessive issuance of government bonds. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, this “big government, small business” model was taken to its extreme. ...