What do they stand for?

Trump and Harris’ foreign policy under the microscope

Trump and Harris could hardly be more different in terms of foreign policy.

(Bild: AFP/Mandel NGAN, Kamil KRZACZYNSKI)

The two US presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have partly opposing positions on foreign policy, particularly in relation to Ukraine. While Trump propagates "America First", Harris upholds loyalty to the alliance. An overview.

War in the Middle East
Harris and Trump are both staunch supporters of Israel, but differ in the extent to which they would try to contain their ally Israel in the face of the military escalation in the Middle East. Harris made it clear that the USA would continue to supply Israel with weapons under her leadership - contrary to the demands of the left wing of her Democratic Party for an embargo.

At the same time, however, she clearly emphasized the Palestinians' "right to self-determination" and announced that she would not remain silent about the suffering of civilians in the Gaza Strip.

Trump's Republicans are staunch supporters of Israel. Their candidate has repeatedly accused incumbent Joe Biden of failing to protect the country, most recently during the Iranian missile attack on Israel on October 1 in response to the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

The Abraham Accords: Under Trump, a process of normalization began in the Middle East.

(Bild: AFP/Alex Wong/Getty Images)

During his time in office (2017-2021), Trump moved the US embassy to Jerusalem in a highly controversial move and initiated the Abraham Accords, a diplomatic rapprochement between Israel and some Arab states to normalize their relations. Trump resents Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for recognizing Biden's 2020 election victory - and not accepting his false claim of electoral fraud.

War in Ukraine
The positions are opposing: The Republican is a staunch opponent of billions in aid for Kiev - it would be foreseeable that the USA would cease to be Kiev's most important donor once he takes office. Trump wants to bring about a quick end to the war, which would presumably mean that Ukraine would be forced to cede a large part of the territory occupied by Russia. At the same time, the real estate billionaire likes to say that he gets along "great" with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Harris, on the other hand, has never left any doubt about US support for Ukraine, which will be provided "for as long as necessary". In the face of Russia's war of aggression, the USA, the largest donor state, "stands firmly by Ukraine and our NATO allies".

The allies in NATO
Trump has always demanded that the allies spend more money on their own defense - and in doing so, he does not hesitate to question the NATO mutual assistance pact. In spring, the Republican repeated his threat that he would not come to the aid of defaulting NATO partners if they were attacked. He would then even encourage the Russians to do "whatever they want" to them. 

The Vice President has positioned herself as a strong supporter of multilateral cooperation and NATO. The US has an "unwavering commitment to NATO", she once said. In her view, it would be foolish to jeopardize the USA's global alliances. 

The great rival China
Both the Republicans and the Democrats see China as the greatest long-term challenge to the US superpower. In his first term in office, Trump instigated a trade war with China and implemented tariff increases.

The relationship with Beijing is getting worse and worse.

(Bild: AFP/Brendan SMIALOWSKI )

During the election campaign, Trump also used his aggressive rhetoric towards China, stating that he could also imagine a "deal" with head of state Xi Jinping, whom he once received at his country residence in Florida. However, he wants to extend his aggressive tariff policy to "all" imported goods.

In the competition with China, the Biden-Harris government has adopted the tariff increases introduced by Trump and recently tightened them. Further increases came into force at the end of September, mainly affecting electric cars, batteries, microchips and a number of raw materials. Harris accuses Trump of being responsible for selling out US technology to China, which is now benefiting the Chinese military.

On the Taiwan issue, Trump took a similar stance to his NATO partners: Taipei would have to pay for the protection provided by the US armed forces. Harris stated that the status quo should remain in place with regard to Taiwan. The USA supported "Taiwan's self-defense in accordance with our long-standing policy".