{"id":53745,"date":"2020-02-24T06:00:38","date_gmt":"2020-02-23T19:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=53745"},"modified":"2020-02-23T15:48:35","modified_gmt":"2020-02-23T04:48:35","slug":"new-normal-for-america-is-new-abnormal-for-australia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/new-normal-for-america-is-new-abnormal-for-australia\/","title":{"rendered":"New normal for America is new abnormal for Australia"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Australia always frets about the US alliance. Today, fret is becoming frenetic. Even a touch feverish. Fear darkens the fancies.<\/p>\n

Donald Trump could do to US alliances what he\u2019s done to US trade policy.<\/p>\n

The president\u2019s approach to trade and defence might be America\u2019s new normal. Be frightened by that thought; Canberra is.<\/p>\n

The new normal line<\/a> is offered by Australia\u2019s departing ambassador in Washington, Joe Hockey, in an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald<\/em>: \u2018\u201cWe are not going back,\u201d Hockey said. \u201cAmerica has changed, global commerce has changed, geo-politics has changed and it\u2019s going to have a profound impact on every part of the world.\u201d\u2019<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s Hockey on how the new normal has arrived: \u201c\u2018The US has basically torn up the whole multinational framework,\u2019 he said. \u2018Relationships now are overwhelmingly bilateral not multilateral. And I don\u2019t think this is exclusive to the Republicans.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Hockey pointed to the positions of Democratic presidential contenders who, while opposing Trump\u2019s abrasive style, share his protectionist trade instincts and resistance to deploying American troops overseas.<\/p>\n

So the US turns away from the global trade system it built using its rules, based on its economic model, running on its dollars. There\u2019s a lot there to make a good ally fretful. Especially the thought that even if Trump loses his bid for re-election, he\u2019s already laid out a version of the future.<\/p>\n

A Trump-flavoured new normal looks like this:<\/p>\n