Effects of America's policies on its neighbors

America’s Damaging Retreat from Its Neighbors

From the tough immigration talk, to the pullout from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, to the disengagement from regional multilateral bodies, the Trump administration has accelerated the declining influence of the United States in Latin America. As rival nations look to fill the void, America’s interests will be hurt, suggest Christopher Sabatini and William Naylor in Foreign Affairs.

“The problem is no longer one of neglect, but of malice, ad hoc policy responses, and blatant disinterest. The administration has reacted to short-term pressures without any hint of a broader, long-term strategy,” they write. “It has shown hostility on immigration and little concern for the issues that Latin American citizens and governments care about, including economic development, trade integration, and multilateral cooperation. Trump has even been disdainful or dismissive of the United States’ traditional allies, such as Mexico and Argentina. His brazen mismanagement is doing tremendous damage -- not only undermining U.S. economic and security interests but also destroying the hard-fought bipartisan legacy that Washington had brokered in the southern hemisphere on trade, human rights, and democracy.”

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