April 29, 2017, marked the end of U.S. President Donald J. Trump’s first 100 days in office. Not long after Election Day in 2016, several Pacific Council experts weighed in with their advice on what then President-elect Trump’s top foreign policy priorities should be during these initial months.

President Trump has accomplished some of his initial campaign promises, such as withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership and canceling some environmental restrictions put in place by former President Barack Obama. In some cases, such as labeling China a currency manipulator, he has reversed his position.

Did President Trump heed the advice of our experts? Where does he stand on his foreign policy plans, and what has the last 100 days meant for his administration going forward?
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Abraham Wagner suggested that President Trump "conduct a top-level White House review of what the cybersecurity problems are—from cyberwarfare to cyberespionage and the issues of state attacks and the Internet of Things—and build an analytic infrastructure that understands the problems." At the Georgetown International Conference on Cyber Engagement on April 24, Robert Joyce, special assistant to the president and cybersecurity coordinator at the White House, said the Trump administration is "close" to releasing an executive order on cybersecurity, which will focus on innovation, protecting critical infrastructure, and addressing international cyber norms.

Jerrold D. Green said President Trump needs to outline a strategy for the Middle East. Although the president has taken some action in the Middle East, including a retaliatory strike against the Syrian government for conducting a chemical weapons attack, and a large-scale attack against ISIL-K in Afghanistan, some members of Congress as well as many informed observers have complained that they are not aware of a coherent, overarching strategy for U.S. political or military engagement in the Middle East.

Agnia Grigas argued that President Trump should stand firm against Russian aggression in Ukraine, Syria, and elsewhere. Statements from administration officials regarding Ukraine have been conflicting, and the White House budget proposal cuts aid to Ukraine by almost 70 percent. President Trump recently endorsed a plan led by Germany and France to negotiate a resolution to the Ukrainian conflict. On Syria, the Trump administration does appear to be standing firm against Russian aggression by accusing Russia of covering up the chemical weapons attack allegedly carried out by the Syrian government.

DJ Peterson said Washington's first priorities should be to reassure allies in Europe that Washington will not cut a deal with Moscow that will undermine European interests, and to present a credible security policy to deal with emerging crises like North Korea and ISIL. The reality of Russian intransigence combined with pressure from his senior advisors and European leaders have compelled President Trump to backtrack and support NATO. Despite aggressive military rhetoric, a credible overarching security policy remains to be seen.

Pamela K. Starr suggested that since then-candidate Donald Trump unnecessarily insisted on putting Mexico on the foreign policy agenda, the United States should recognize that it "needs a Mexico that is economically and politically stable so it can protect our back against international terrorism." President Trump’s insistence that Mexico pay for the U.S. border wall, his threat to use military force against the drug trade, and high-profile deportations across the United States have soured relations. Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto canceled a planned visit to Washington in January, and Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray recently called the border wall a "hostile act."

Steve Miska advised that the Trump administration should not to void the Iran nuclear deal. The U.S. State Department said on April 19 that Iran is complying with the terms of the deal, but Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called the deal a failure in that it does not "achieve the objective of a non-nuclear Iran, it only delays their goal of becoming a nuclear state." He also said that the Trump administration is currently reviewing whether to lift sanctions against Iran due to its sponsorship of terrorism. Reapplying sanctions would violate the terms of the deal.

David Koranyi said the United States should maintain its international energy commitments, including the Paris climate agreement. President Trump has renewed the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines, excluded renewable sources of energy from his "America First Energy Plan," appointed a climate change skeptic to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), rescinded an Obama-era rule forbidding coal companies from disposing of waste in rivers, proposed cutting the EPA’s budget by 31 percent, called for a review of national monuments created by Presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama, and started the process of dismantling Obama’s signature climate legislation. He has not yet, however, withdrawn the United States from the Paris climate agreement, although EPA chief Scott Pruitt called for doing so on April 13. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said President Trump plans to make his final decision about the agreement at the end of May.

Suzie Abdou urged President Trump to make human rights a priority by not suspending the U.S. refugee resettlement program. The president signed an early executive order suspending the program for 120 days, cutting the number of refugees the United States would accept this year by more than half, banning Syrian refugees indefinitely, and halting the issuance of visas to the nationals of six other Muslim-majority countries. When the order was blocked by a federal district court and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, President Trump signed a revised order dropping Iraq and green card holders from the travel ban. That order was also blocked by a federal judge in Hawaii.

Philip Seib called for strong support for public diplomacy from the president and the secretary of state. President Trump has not said much about public diplomacy himself, but his proposed budget calls for dramatic cuts to the State Department and USAID, including to foreign aid and public diplomacy.

Michael C. Camuñez said the United States should strengthen North American trade. The Trump administration reportedly considered an executive order to withdraw the United States from NAFTA, then reversed course after President Trump spoke with the leaders of Mexico and Canada. President Trump announced April 25 that the United States would be levying tariffs on Canadian lumber companies for an average of about 20 percent, and complained about Canadian treatment of U.S. dairy. President Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who called the lumber tariffs "unfair duties," spoke on the phone recently about the trade dispute.

Michelle Kezirian suggested that the Trump administration move the trials at Guantánamo Bay along. The White House drafted an executive order to direct the Pentagon to send future ISIL detainees to the prison, which has not yet been finalized or signed by the president. President Trump has said he is in favor of expanding the use of the prison, but it remains to be seen what happens to the remaining 41 prisoners there.

Malcolm Riddell warned the Trump administration not to provoke China by labeling it a currency manipulator and starting a trade war by issuing a 45 percent tariff, both of which the president has not done. In fact, President Trump’s recent meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at Mar-a-Lago seems to have smoothed out several aspects of U.S.-China relations for the time being.

Abraham F. Lowenthal said that the Trump administration should not disturb America’s good relationships with most Latin American countries by hostile talk and actions against Mexico. The Trump administration has been largely silent on Latin America beyond Mexico and Venezuela. However, in its attempts to pull out of or renegotiate trade deals—including the TPP—the Trump administration could leave the door open for China to gain ground with its own trade plans in the region.
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Read all of our interviews in the First 100 Days series.

Have your own take on U.S. foreign policy challenges? Let us know on Twitter @PacCouncil or send us your thoughts directly at engage@pacificcouncil.org.