Trump says he spoke with Zelenskyy; pledges to 'end the war'

 

At the Republican National Convention, Donald Trump said he could bring an end to wars 'with a telephone call', without offering details as to how  Image: AFP

U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said Friday he had spoken by telephone with Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and pledged to end the European country's war with Russia.

"I appreciate President Zelenskyy for reaching out because I, as your next President of the United States, will bring peace to the world and end the war that has cost so many lives and devastated countless innocent families," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform. "Both sides will be able to come together and negotiate a deal that ends the violence and paves a path forward to prosperity."

The United States has provided tens of billions of dollars in military assistance for Kyiv since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 -- though a Trump victory in the November election would put Washington's continued support into question.

Zelenskyy confirmed the call, during which he congratulated Trump on formally becoming the Republican Party's presidential nominee, as well as wishing the 78-year-old well after an attempt on his life a week ago.

"We agreed with President Trump to discuss at a personal meeting what steps can make peace fair and truly lasting," Zelenskyy said in a post on X. "I noted the vital bipartisan and bicameral American support for protecting our nation's freedom and independence."

Trump has repeatedly claimed he would end the war very quickly, without offering details as to how.

Last week, the ex-president hosted at his Florida estate Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who met with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month.

Trump's frequent praise for Putin and reluctance to outright criticize the Russian invasion have stirred concerns among Ukraine's allies that he would force the country into accepting partial defeat.

He has also repeatedly suggested backing away from NATO, even undermining the alliance's collective defense guarantee by saying he would encourage Russia to attack any members not who had not met their financial obligations.

Trump's running mate JD Vance leads the isolationist wing of congressional Republicans, who argue the United States should drop aid to Ukraine.

Vance was one of the fiercest opponents of the approval of $61 billion in new military aid for Ukraine, which was stalled by Republican lawmakers for months earlier this year -- a time in which Russia made battlefield gains.

Trump told the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Thursday that he would bring an end to raging international crises, saying he could "stop wars with a telephone call."

"I will end every single international crisis that the current administration has created, including the horrible war with Russia and Ukraine," Trump said, without elaborating on how.

Zelenskyy said earlier this week that he and Trump would "work together" if the Republican won the White House.

"I'm not worried about this," he told a news conference.

Zelenskyy declined to say whether he was worried about U.S. President Joe Biden, who has been facing calls to drop his reelection campaign following a disastrous debate performance and questions over his health and mental acuity.

He did, however, acknowledge that "turbulence" during the U.S. election cycle was having a "big impact" on his country.

Trump's relationship with Zelenskyy famously goes back to his time in the White House.

In 2019, Trump was impeached for withholding military aid to Ukraine while pressuring Zelenskyy to help him dig up dirt on his election rival Biden -- a race he went on to lose in 2020.

Meta lifts restrictions on Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts

Meta said Friday it was lifting restrictions on U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts, ending measures put in place after his supporters violently stormed the US Capitol in 2021.

It said that "former President Trump, as the nominee of the Republican Party, will no longer be subject to the heightened suspension penalties."

Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts were suspended indefinitely a day after his supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, and it was determined he had praised people engaged in violence on social media.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gestures during a rally in Doral, Florida  Image: AFP/File

His accounts were reinstated in February 2023 but with a threat of penalties for future breaches -- an additional restriction that Meta lifted on Friday.

"In assessing our responsibility to allow political expression, we believe that the American people should be able to hear from the nominees for President on the same basis," Meta wrote in a blog post.

It added that U.S. presidential candidates "remain subject to the same Community Standards as all Facebook and Instagram users, including those policies designed to prevent hate speech and incitement to violence."

Trump, the first former president to be convicted of a crime, was also banned from Twitter and YouTube.

While those restrictions were later lifted last year, Trump now mainly communicates on his own social media platform, Truth Social.

His Facebook profile, which has 34 million users, includes messages originally published on Truth Social as well as invitations to rallies and videos from his campaign.

 

Musk donates to Trump, tapping vast fortune to swing 2024 U.S. race

Billionaire Elon Musk has donated to a super political action committee working to elect Donald Trump to the White House, a major gambit by the world’s richest person to make his imprint on the U.S. political landscape.

Elon Musk, chief executive officer of SpaceX and Tesla and owner of X, attends the Viva Technology conference dedicated to innovation and startups in Paris in June last year. | REUTERS

Musk has contributed to a low-profile group called America PAC, according to people familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity to detail his plans. It’s unclear how much Musk has given, but the people characterized the figure as a sizable amount. The PAC is next required to disclose its list of donors on July 15.

The move highlights the growing influence of a technology mogul who tops the Bloomberg Billionaires Index with a net worth of $263.6 billion and his shift from a self-described political independent — who said he preferred to stay out of politics — into a figure who regularly uses his X social media platform to espouse right-leaning views and assail Democrats.

The money injection from Musk comes at a time when Trump has overtaken his rival, U.S. President Joe Biden, in fundraising with the help of deep-pocketed Wall Street and corporate donors. Biden’s own money raising has dropped off following a calamitous debate that led prominent Democratic donors to put away their checkbooks.

Musk has yet to publicly endorse a candidate in the 2024 race and said earlier this year he did not anticipate financing either Trump or Biden’s election efforts, but his decision to open his pocketbook presents an opportunity for him to become a financial juggernaut for Republicans.

The Trump campaign declined to comment. Chris Gober, America PAC’s treasurer, declined to comment.

America PAC is working mostly behind the scenes to bolster the Trump campaign’s ground game.

Though Federal Election Commission disclosures don’t detail where work is occurring, canvassing and get-out-the-vote efforts are conducted most intensively in key battleground states that will determine the outcome of the election.

Musk’s efforts threaten to deal a devastating blow to Biden and Democrats, who are already mired in an intraparty battle over the president’s political future.

Democrats invested heavily in field offices and staff in swing states, moves Biden regularly touts on the stump.

A super PAC matching those efforts on Trump’s behalf gives Republicans a major cash advantage to spend official campaign money elsewhere, in what is shaping up to be the most expensive presidential election in U.S. history.

Among outside organizations backing Trump, America PAC is the biggest spender on direct voter contacts. It has spent $15.8 million so far, with $13.1 million of that going for field operations, federal records show. It has also paid for digital media, texting and phone calls to reach voters.

The group focuses on door-to-door persuasion and get-out-the-vote efforts. A recent ruling by the FEC allows super PACs to coordinate with campaigns on voter outreach.

America PAC has hired In Field Strategies, a national grassroots firm that’s also done work for the Republican National Committee.

Representatives for In Field didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The political money makes Musk an even more formidable Washington player. He derives his wealth primarily from his holdings in electric vehicle maker Tesla, SpaceX and X. His companies already boast sizable government contracts and regularly clash with federal agencies over regulations.

Some of Trump’s proposed policies, such as dismantling Biden’s measures to transition the U.S. to electric vehicles and vows to impose tariffs on Chinese EV makers, would have a direct impact on Tesla.

Musk and Trump have clashed in the past but the two have grown closer with the tech entrepreneur advising the former president on electric vehicles and crypto policy.

During Tesla’s annual meeting last month, Musk discussed his relationship with Trump.

"He does call me out of the blue for no reason,” Musk said.

How will the global economic environment change if Trump is re-elected?

Former US President Donald Trump. photo bloomberg

“When the next government takes office, the ‘Second Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)’ committed by the Joe Biden administration will be abolished on the first day of its term. This is worse than the first one. “It’s another massive globalization monster designed to drive outsourcing to Asia, and it’s threatening to crush (our) farmers and manufacturers.” 

Former U.S. President Donald Trump visited Iowa on November 18, 2023 (local time) and said this. The intention is to immediately abolish the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), which the Biden administration has painstakingly negotiated, by viewing it as another TPP. 

IPEF is an economic consultative body in which 14 countries in the Indo-Pacific (Indo-Pacific) region, including Korea, have agreed on three of the four pillars - supply chain, clean economy, and fair economy. I was trying. There was a big stir among countries in the India-Thailand region. This is because the United States' withdrawal from IPEF will jeopardize institutional arrangements such as stable trade order and environmental cooperation in the India-Pacific region and increase uncertainty, jeopardizing the recovery of the region and the global economy. Now, as the possibility of Trump's re-election slowly rises to the surface, the world is busy assessing and preparing for its impact. 

Trump's second term has repercussions for the global economy due to the return of the tariff war. 

If Trump is re-elected, the impact is expected to bring significant changes to the global economic order. The World Trade Organization (WTO), which has regulated the multilateral trade order, will become even more powerless. Many of the agreements reached at the 13th WTO Trade Ministers' Meeting (MC 13) held at the end of February 2024 will be in vain. For example, an agreement to come up with a reform plan for the WTO dispute resolution process by the end of the year is also hopeless. Investment facilitation for development (IFD) is also likely to drift.

The steel and aluminum tariff war, which was an issue during Trump's first term, will also be repeated in a more evolved form. If the plan announced by Trump and his campaign members becomes reality, it would impose a 10% tariff on all U.S. imports in 2025, a 60% tariff on Chinese imports, and eliminate imports of essential goods from China within four years. It will be tried. If this happens, Americans will suffer from high inflation again and real income will decrease. It is clear that the world trade order will head toward catastrophe and become a bloody economic battlefield rife with retaliatory measures. 

The German Economic Institute (GEI) estimated the impact if China retaliated with a 40% tariff on US imports in response to the high tariffs discussed earlier. According to the study, the United States is expected to lose up to $1 trillion (about 1,367 trillion won) in gross domestic product (GDP) over four years. This will be a huge blow to the global economy, which is heavily dependent on the U.S. economy. The level of global GDP will be lowered by 1 percentage point in 2028. In the case of Germany, which relies heavily on exports, it is estimated that GDP will decrease by 1.4 percentage points compared to the previous level. Our country is expected to suffer a similar blow. 

More advanced protectionism measures also increase the burden on businesses.

Sanctions against some Chinese companies, including Huawei, during Trump's first term have been expanded to extensive export controls, import and investment regulations, and secondary boycotts under the Biden administration. Trump's second term is expected to continue this process while eliminating exceptions allowed by the Biden administration through negotiations with individual companies or countries. For example, this means that the toxic provisions contained in the Semiconductor Chip and Science Act or the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) will be implemented as is without suspension or relaxation. If this happens, our country's semiconductor, electric vehicle and battery industries will be significantly affected. For example, the import of equipment from European companies into the semiconductor factories of large Korean companies invested in China could be greatly affected. Exports of electric vehicles to the United States may be restricted again. 

Transatlantic relations between the United States and Europe are expected to deteriorate in particular, which will also have a negative impact on Pacific countries. Topics covered by the ongoing U.S.-EU Trade Technical Committee (TTC) include transatlantic technology standards, climate and clean technologies, supply chain security, digital security, data governance and technology platforms, export controls, and investment screening. It covers recent key international trade issues, such as digital utilization of small and medium-sized businesses. However, if agreement is delayed in this area, companies operating in the Indo-Pacific region will face a business environment with great uncertainty due to the lack of transparent and reasonable regulatory measures. In addition, areas that were already problematic during Trump's first term, such as steel and aluminum trade issues, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) defense cost sharing issues, and disintegrating environmental cooperation, will again turn into conflict. 

photo shutterstock

Korea’s response plan is

What should our response be? First, rather than wasting time trying to lower the possibility of Trump's re-election and making hopes, we should assume a case where Trump is re-elected, like in Europe, and quickly prepare measures for it. While the EU is working to build connections with Trump's associates, on the other hand, it is assessing the impact of Trump's administration and is reorganizing digital taxes that could hurt American digital companies. The Critical Minerals Agreement and the Global Agreement on Sustainable Steel and Aluminum are also underway. 

Second, rather than unilaterally backing out of negotiations with the upcoming second Trump administration, we must do our best to calculate what we will give and what we will receive and make the most of it. If the imposition of a 10% tariff is realized, the issue must be actively raised because it is a measure that violates the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Demands for sharing defense costs will intensify, and there is a need to keep pace with other countries, including Europe. At the same time, you have to buy time. 

Third, cooperation should be strengthened with likeminded countries other than the United States, such as the EU, Japan, Australia, and Canada, in the areas of supply chain stability, green transition, mineral agreements, non-tariff barriers, and labor and environmental conditions. All available measures, including bilateral and small-scale cooperation, must be explored. There is a need to have prior discussions with these countries in preparation for Trump's election, or to actively participate in the various measures being planned or implemented. 

Fourth, let’s use Trump’s re-election as a positive opportunity. Currently, the green transition is spreading into a trade dispute, putting significant pressure on Korean industries that are lagging behind the green transition. If America goes back to its fossil fuel base, we can buy ourselves a little more time for a green transition. We must use this as an opportunity to steadily advance our green transition, which lags far behind Europe, the United States, and China, and keep pace with other countries. This is especially urgent in the power sector.