For the past four years, President Donald Trump made it an emphasized political goal to manipulate America’s role in global trade. Specifically, by imposing global tariffs on exported goods, Trump aimed to strengthen the domestic economy and put pressure on other trade partners in order to benefit the United States. When the COVID-19 pandemic swept the country and the globe, those economic aspirations were hindered by a widespread downturn in global trade. As described in an article published by the World Politics Review, Trump’s policies led to an instability in the global economy, as the balance of trade and disproportionate flow of imports coming from China were greatly affected by the shutdown of Chinese manufacturing establishments. This article breaks down how and why Trump’s trade strategies affected the global economy, with a specific light on how they affected the global economy during the COVID pandemic. In light of the United States’ recent election, it may prove useful to examine the existing state of the global economy through the lens of how Trump’s policies have impacted trade leading up to today.
In early November, the American people elected Joe Biden to be the 46th president of the United States. This change, along with many other systematic adjustments, will mean a serious revision in the way that America interacts with the global economy and the pandemic. By examining Joe Biden’s website and his breakdown of future policy changes, we can predict how the global economy will respond to this key shift in American leadership. As an example, it should be noted that on his website, Biden has intended to focus specifically on combating the spread of COVID-19 in America by making tests more readily available to the public. When Biden is inaugurated, the changes in COVID response could very well lead to a massive global shift in economic activity.
Although it may seem that studying the impact of COVID-19 on the United States alone distracts from the overarching mission of the United Nations, it is important to acknowledge the extremely pivotal role America plays in global trade and development. Serving as the primary trading partner for about 40 countries, the U.S. accounts for an immense amount of the global economic activity, which has been devastated by the pandemic. Relating back to our first blog post, it is important to note that many developing nations depend greatly on the U.S. for trade and resources, such as the Bahamas, where 81.8% of their imports come from the U.S. Also heavily impacted have been Central and South America, which includes a swath of developing countries that have deteriorated economically as the U.S. fails to maintain its regular trading abilities. In summary, the United States’ failure to control COVID-19 has had drastic impacts on global trade as a whole, hitting developing countries especially hard. Moving forward, it can be extremely useful for you, the United Nations, to examine specific, yet critical, changes and developments, such as a new incoming American President. By trying to predict the consequences of these, you can be more effective in determining the best plan of action for the future of global trade and development.
We wish you luck in your research and preparation for HMUN 2021 and we’re so excited to meet you and hear what you have to say on this very real and pertinent topic!
Sincerely,
Your Assistant Directors, Bella Nesti and Ben Hintzman
https://joebiden.com/covid-plan/
The Economic and Social Council Blog 