How the rest of the world feels as Trump is inaugurated

US President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House on Monday, and most of the world is watching with bated breath.

The prospect of more unpredictable foreign and commercial policies, especially the threat of universal trade tariffs of 10-20%, has raised concerns in the international world and spooked financial markets. But Trump’s transactional approach and his “America First” policy are not universally feared.

In fact, many countries welcome a new era that has been labeled “Trump 2.0”.

“Trump’s return is lamented by America’s long-term allies, but hardly anyone else,” the European Council on Foreign Relations think tank said when it published. a global survey which found that people in China and Russia were more optimistic about Trump’s return to power than longtime allies in Europe and Asia.

“Many think that Trump will not only be good for America, but that he will bring peace or reduce tensions in Ukraine, the Middle East and US-China relations,” the poll of more than 28,000 people in 24 countries has found

“In countries from India and China to Turkey and Brazil, more respondents think Trump will be good for America, for their country and for peace in the world than they think it will be bad for them,” the ECFR reported on the results.

The survey showed that respondents in India, Saudi Arabia and Russia were the most optimistic about Trump’s return to office, both in terms of how it would be good for American citizens and for their countries. .

Almost 60% of Russian respondents felt that Trump’s election was good for American citizens and 49% thought it was a good thing for Russia.

Close behind, 46% of Chinese respondents felt that Trump’s return was good for China. That’s despite Trump’s threat to impose tariffs of 60% to 100% on goods imported from China, a move that could deal a blow to the Chinese economy but also backfire, likely pushing up prices for consumers Americans.

Positive sentiment towards Trump among the original BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) – and the belief that a more peaceful world could be the result of his presidency – was much higher than in the E.U. , the United Kingdom and the South. Korea, where only 11% of citizens surveyed considered a Trump presidency as a good thing for their future.

Just a little more cheerfully, only 15% of British respondents think that Trump would be good for the UK So much for the “special relationship”.

“When Donald Trump returns to the White House, most of the world will welcome him. In Europe, anxiety is widespread, but people in many other countries feel either relaxed or actively positive about Trump’s second term “, the ECFR noted when it published the survey, carried out in November.

“US allies in Europe and South Korea are notably pessimistic about the incoming president – suggesting a further weakening of the geopolitical ‘West,'” he added.

It will not only be encouraged the scale of his electoral victory in 2024the firm support of a unified Republican Party and returning to the White House with more experience, he also surrounded himself with loyalists who are more ideologically aligned with him, said Ian Bremmer, founder and president of Eurasia Group.

Bremmer told CNBC that Trump 2.0 will see the president hold more power and influence than before, while the West and the Group of Seven — a group that includes the United Kingdom, Canada and Germany — lose status.

“Trump has significantly more power vis-à-vis other countries this time — both allies and adversaries of the United States — so they’re more inclined to listen to him and take him seriously,” Bremmer told CNBC in emailed comments.

“Trump has even more countries and populations lined up in support of his ‘my country first’ approach to governing,” Bremmer added.

“He had a strong relationship with Israel and the Gulf states in his first term, but now add to it Italy, Hungary, Argentina, El Salvador… and a large part of the population in many other countries too. It’s very different from Trump showing up at the G20 and everyone snickering behind his back,” he noted.

“Today’s G-Zero world is a very different environment,” Bremmer added, referring to his vision of a world in which no one power or group of powers is willing and able to drive a global agenda to maintain international order.

Market analysts agree that while Trump’s antipathy toward China, the United States’ biggest economic rival, is well known, his long-standing ambivalence toward NATO and his anger over a deficit continued trade with most of Europe make allies on the continent a target for Trump’s probability. more assertive, and potentially hostile, trade and defense policies.

European countries make up the majority of NATO’s constituents and the EU is the largest trading partner of the United States as a bloc.

“Here in Europe, we are worried,” market strategist Bill Blain [if he’s not independent can we state the company/org he’s from please] he said in emailed comments last week. “However, the rest of the world is largely unaware of the scale of change that could come.”

“It is clear that the geopolitical lines have been redrawn. So the foundations of the global economy will be redefined,” added Blain.