US President-elect talks about taking Greenland from Denmark and increasing import tariffs for Mexico and Canada
Donald Trump (Republican) takes office on Monday (January 20, 2025) with international political issues on the rise. On Wednesday (15 January) negotiators from Israel and Hamas, with mediators from Egypt, USA and Qatar to the conflict in the Gaza Strip.
The Republican then shortly after its announcement. However, the issue has been discussed for months among foreign authorities and Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, only came to the table after his election in November 2024.
Another point that shook expectations about Trump’s foreign policy conduct upon his return to the White House was his speeches about neighboring territories, such as Canada, the Gulf of Mexico and, in particular, Greenland.
Days before Christmas, the president-elect will be “an absolute necessity” to the USA “Ownership and Control” from Greenland. The territory is an autonomous region belonging to Denmark, an important political partner of the USA in Europe and in NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization).
At the beginning of 2025, Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., . According to him, it was a trip for tourist purposes. But, for experts and political opponents, the trip represents an endorsement of his father’s statements.
According to Roberto Uebel, the beginning of Trump’s new term should be “very busy” in relation to foreign policy and diplomacy, but it is expected that he will adopt attitudes similar to those taken during his first stint in the Executive.
To the Poder360the doctor in International Strategic Studies and professor of international relations at ESPM (Escola Superior de Propaganda e Marketing) states that the trend of the new mandate should be “a look at the neighbors” and regional in nature, but it must try to make a name for itself in external conflicts.
“I think that the war in Ukraine is perhaps the Trump administration’s greatest interest, in actually reaching a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine and moving forward with the ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas terrorist group.”he declares.
Regarding Trump’s speeches about the Gulf of Mexico, which he claims wants to change the name to “Gulf of America”, Uebel explains that there is no impediment for the new president to issue a decree for the change, but the big question would be the reaction of the international community. The nomenclature has been adopted for more than 400 years. The ocean basin is the coast of 5 Mexican states, 5 North American states and two Cuban provinces.
As for Greenland, the professor says it is possible that Trump supports independence movements on the island to break away from Denmark and, according to him, become a kind of “Buffer state”. However, the movement could cause friction with the European country, a major US ally in NATO and the European Union.
“Historically, the Trump administration is a government that conflicts with its main allies. I wouldn’t be surprised if he took some measure of support for Greenland’s independence fighters,” says Uebel.
The expert assesses that the main points of tension between the Republican and other foreign leaders could occur in Europe, especially if he continues his speech about Greenland and criticizes NATO.
In relation to America, the professor states that interactions should focus on the leaders of Mexico, Canada, Venezuela and Brazil. In addition, Trump should also try to develop mechanisms to curb the immigration of Latin Americans and accelerate the deportation of illegal foreigners. The theme is recurrent in the republican’s speeches. As for the countries of Asia and Africa, Uebel hopes that Trump will continue with pragmatic attitudes similar to his first term.
Among your Trump stated that he would increase tariffs on Chinese products by 60% and, after being elected, he declared that he would also adopt higher tariffs for Mexico and Canada. The 2 countries are among the .
China has not made many public statements about Trump’s proposal, but in order not to jeopardize its 5% growth target this year. The American president-elect also adopted .
As for neighbors Mexico and Canada, the Republican with the aim of stopping what he calls a “invasion of drugs and illegal policies”. The ESPM expert says he prefers to wait and see what the Trump administration’s first measures will be. “Is it possible for him to adopt this surcharge? Yes. But it is also a huge setback for the North American economy”he states.
“At a time when tariffs on Canadian and Mexican products are being increased to the United States, this means that products are becoming more expensive for the North American consumer”says Uebel.
Rising prices can lead to what the professor calls “snowball” economic: more expensive products, higher inflation and decreased purchasing power. For him, the effect could cause a possible loss of electoral capital for Trump in his first year of government. “We know that what most influences the behavior of the average North American voter is purchasing power”, says Roberto Uebel.
MARCO RUBIO
Senator by Donald Trump to command the State Department – equivalent to the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs –, Marco Rubio is critical of the president (PT). When the PT member was elected in 2022, the senator disapproving the PT member’s approach to the Chinese. He also expressed his opinion against the Brazilian president’s relationship with the Venezuelan leader, Nicolás Maduro.
Furthermore, Rubio also criticized the Brazilian government when X (former Twitter) by decision of the minister of the STF (Supreme Federal Court) Alexandre de Moraes. “The national ban on X in Brazil, under the Lula administration, raises serious concerns about freedom of expression and abuse of judicial power”, Rubio on September 4th.
However, for Uebel, Trump’s choice to nominate Rubio appears to be among the Republican’s most pragmatic, even with the and compared to his previous secretaries of state.
“I think we will have more distant relations between the Trump government and the Lula government, but nothing that deviates from the normality of diplomatic relations between the United States and Brazil. […] Diplomatic relations [entre os países] There are moments of ups and downs, but we have always had stable relations with the United States.”declared the professor.
