What Trump's team really wants from the world - Rezazadeh

Amidst a wave of tariffs, pauses in negotiations and contradictory statements from the White House, it is still unclear what policy the United States will implement on the international stage. Despite some hints of bilateral agreements, the real strategy of the Trump administration remains vague.

This is evidenced by the analysis of the first vice president of the Iranian opposition in the United States, Ali Reza Rezazadeh, who is closely monitoring Washington's new trade line.

"There is no clear vector. Trump seems to be looking for a flexible, bilateral model of agreements, but without clear principles. This creates an atmosphere of uncertainty not only for US allies, but also for the negotiators in his administration themselves," Rezazadeh emphasized.

The White House’s key demands include more purchases of U.S. liquefied natural gas, lower tariffs on U.S. exports, reduced tax burdens on Silicon Valley tech giants, and promises from partners not to help China circumvent sanctions. But even these theses vary by country—and often contradict each other.

Last week, Trump abruptly suspended new tariffs on more than 70 countries, citing “disturbing volatility in the bond market.” Instead, he gave 90 days to reach agreements with individual countries, including Vietnam, Japan, South Korea, and Israel. The overall 10% tariff on all imports to the U.S. remained in place, while tariffs on China rose to more than 100%.

“This is a situation in which American officials themselves admit that they do not fully understand what the president’s goals are. And therefore, foreign delegations cannot conduct effective negotiations,” Rezazadeh notes. This opinion is also confirmed by independent experts. For example, the head of the American Action Forum, Doug Holtz-Eakin, stated: “Nobody knows what they want — and what’s worse, Trump himself doesn’t seem to know it.”

Even more surprising was the statement of White House adviser Peter Navarro, who criticized BMW’s investment in a plant in South Carolina, calling it “harmful to America” — although this is exactly the kind of production that Trump has been demanding from foreign companies for years.

According to Ali Reza Rezadeh, the main problem is the lack of strategic thinking: “Every decision looks situational, dictated by a moment or emotion. But the international economy is not a campaign, nor a show. Predictability is needed here. And today the USA no longer personifies it.”