Trump’s Art of Negotiations on Display

The difficulty that politicians – particularly liberal politicians (including the delusional woke progressives) – have is they try to apply their traditional straight line thinking to a President who is a business negotiator President Donald Trump. Even those who have read his The Art of the Deal still don’t get it. And what they don’t get is always to their detriment.

Take for instance the recent negotiations with Colombia, Mexico and Canada. In each instance Mr. Trump used basically the same complaint – that the United States wasn’t being treated fairly. And then he would recite a litany of statistics about trade imbalances and asymmetric treatment of imports and exports (automobiles, machinery, natural resources, etc.) But what did that mean? And therein lies the problem for those countries and for those in our country who regularly side with our opponents/enemies. They were clueless. The never once looked at the strengths and weaknesses of our country or, just as importantly, the strengths and weaknesses of nations sitting across the table from us. Mr. Trump did. He not only looked but he examined, he probed experts and used his own good judgment about the people with whom he would be negotiating. Based on that he knew that he would be bargaining from a position of strength.

It turns out that Mr. Trump was less concerned about the trade imbalance than he was about border security, illicit drugs and a few minor matters. The results then were as follows:

When Colombia refused airspace access for purposes of returning illegal criminal immigrants, Mr. Trump threatened significant tariffs on all Colombian exports to the United States. Roughly one quarter of all Colombian exports are destined for the United States at an estimated value of just under $20 Billion. That represents about ten percent of Colombia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The impact of tariffs could have a devastating effect on its economy. But it was Colombia’s concession to receiving their illegal immigrants to reinforce our border security that was the important factor. So not only did Colombia agree to receive the two plane loads of illegals destined for Bogota but also accept all future deportees.

Then it was Mexico’s turn. Again the threat of tariffs and the complaint about trade imbalance. But it was really about border security and the flow of illicit drugs. Now Mexico will provide 10,000 troops on the border to deter illegal border crossings but mostly to stop the flow of drugs – particularly fentanyl. The final agreement will remain fluid as both sides determine the effectiveness of the new deterrents.

And finally, there is Canada. And like the others Mr. Trump complained about not being treated fairly – trade deficits, manufacturing restrictions, failure to pay for their defense in NATO, etc. But that isn’t what he was really after. Again he wanted border security and a barrier to the flow of illegal drugs.

But this time it was a little different. Mr. Trump doesn’t like Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Mr. Trump believes him to be a weak and feckless leader more interested in the optics of the woke agenda than in providing for the Canadian people. He already embarrassed Mr. Trudeau previously when the Canadian prime minister appeared uninvited at Mar-a-largo shortly after Mr. Trump’s overwhelming victory. At that meeting Mr. Trump dismissed Canada under Mr. Truduea as irrelevant and a good bet to become the 51^st American state with Mr. Trudeau as its irrelevant governor. So humbled was Mr. Trudeau that he returned to Canada and finally fessed up to his failures by offering his resignation and calling for new elections. This round of negotiations was the icing on the cake. Mr. Trudeau came away without a single thing but a groveling acceptance of Mr. Trump’s demands. It ensured that Mr. Trudeau’s future will be better served as a dance instructor than a leader of anything beyond a march of the lemmings.

But the humiliation of Mr. Trudeau isn’t the point – as much as we might enjoy it. The point is that negotiating with Mr. Trump is not for the weak at heart or the concession minded politicians. It is bare knuckles and requires you to be as prepared as he is. When Mr. Trump enters negotiations, few know what he is really after. When Mr. Trumps sits at the table you should know that he negotiates from a position of strength and that there is always something secondary to the announced purpose.

But the real test will be when Mr. Trump begins negotiations with Chinese President Xi Jinping. President Xi plays the long game and has dozens of pieces active in any negotiations. He is run over virtually every nation that he enticed into his road and belt initiatives. He is a formidable opponent and every national leader should want a ring side seat at these negotiations. It will be master’s thesis in leadership.

But don’t hold you breath too long because the negotiations with Mr. Xi and the Communist Chinese government will require patience over an extended period. And that means Mr. Xi has the knowledge that Mr. Trump only has four years to negotiate and implement while Mr. Xi can wait for another coward like former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden and roll them as he has done thus far. The fear of war kept Mr. Obama in place while Mr. Biden was already beholden because of the nefarious dealings of his son.

This going to be a tough slog made worse by the backbiting domestic politicians who will criticize endlessly without offering a single alternative – except capitulation as did Mr. Obama and Mr. Biden.