In his 6/1 Paris Accords withdrawal announcement, President Trump ignored most of his advisors, including his Secretaries of Defense, State and Treasury (but not his EPA advisor who agreed with withdrawal). These advisors understood that a decision to withdraw from the Paris Accords would represent one more blow to America’s role as a world leader and would further loosen the binding ties between the US and our European and Asian allies. Combined with the damage from Trump’s NATO visit, and withdrawal from the TPP, grave damage has been done to US standing in the world. This is not just symbolic; soft power and influence should not be underestimated as tools in promoting alliances keeping in place rules and institutions established by the US over the past 70 years. These institutions have formed a framework for world peace and relative financial stability. Given the fragile state of world order (exacerbated in part by poor policies of the Bush and Obama administrations, one too aggressive, the other too timid), further disorder caused by a bullying and isolated US will not likely benefit US interests in the long run.
But back to the Paris Accords. [Read more…] about Trump’s Mistake – Withdrawing from the Paris Accords