📰 The Deal-Maker Who Can’t Close: Trump's Trade Chaos Weakens America’s Global Hand
President Trump wants new trade deals — but keeps torching the table before anyone can sit down.
📋 No Deals, Just Deadlocks
• Talks with China have stalled as Trump re-escalates a tariff war he once claimed was “won.”
• The EU threatens retaliation over Trump’s proposed 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum.
• Trade diplomacy now hinges on a possible phone call between Trump and Xi — their first since January.
said Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt — as markets wobble and trust erodes.
📊 Faith in Tariffs, Fear in Markets
• Trump’s approach: threaten first, negotiate never. It has failed to deliver deals, and now faces a legal blockade after U.S. courts ruled many tariffs unlawful.
• Wall Street is spooked. Factory activity shrinks, imports drop to a 16-year low, and global investors hedge for another round of Trumpian volatility.
• Meanwhile, the U.S. restricts chip software and jet parts to China, blocks visas for Chinese students, and lashes out at Huawei — all while demanding a "reset."
💼 Isolation by Design
• The Trump administration claims pressure will bring results — but allies are alienated, adversaries entrenched.
• China eyes new tech footholds in the Middle East, the EU aligns tighter with Asia, and U.S. global credibility continues to slide.
• The “America First” trade vision now looks less like strategy, more like self-sabotage.
🤔 What happens when a superpower’s biggest threat isn’t a rival — but its own unpredictability?
And can a president who distrusts institutions, ignores advisors, and rewrites rules at will still be called a negotiator?
#trump #tradewar #china #EU #tariffs #geopolitics #uspolicy #economicchaos #trump2025 #americafirst #isolation
📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events 🇺🇸
President Trump wants new trade deals — but keeps torching the table before anyone can sit down.
📋 No Deals, Just Deadlocks
• Talks with China have stalled as Trump re-escalates a tariff war he once claimed was “won.”
• The EU threatens retaliation over Trump’s proposed 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum.
• Trade diplomacy now hinges on a possible phone call between Trump and Xi — their first since January.
💭 “We are hopeful and optimistic,”
said Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt — as markets wobble and trust erodes.
📊 Faith in Tariffs, Fear in Markets
• Trump’s approach: threaten first, negotiate never. It has failed to deliver deals, and now faces a legal blockade after U.S. courts ruled many tariffs unlawful.
• Wall Street is spooked. Factory activity shrinks, imports drop to a 16-year low, and global investors hedge for another round of Trumpian volatility.
• Meanwhile, the U.S. restricts chip software and jet parts to China, blocks visas for Chinese students, and lashes out at Huawei — all while demanding a "reset."
💼 Isolation by Design
• The Trump administration claims pressure will bring results — but allies are alienated, adversaries entrenched.
• China eyes new tech footholds in the Middle East, the EU aligns tighter with Asia, and U.S. global credibility continues to slide.
• The “America First” trade vision now looks less like strategy, more like self-sabotage.
🤔 What happens when a superpower’s biggest threat isn’t a rival — but its own unpredictability?
And can a president who distrusts institutions, ignores advisors, and rewrites rules at will still be called a negotiator?
#trump #tradewar #china #EU #tariffs #geopolitics #uspolicy #economicchaos #trump2025 #americafirst #isolation
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How Putin is Helping the Taliban Overcome Isolation 🌍🕌
While Russia’s decision marked a major victory for the Kabul regime, exiled Afghan dissidents and human rights advocates strongly criticized Moscow’s move, arguing it risks legitimizing gender apartheid in Afghanistan while dimming prospects for democratic reforms. 🚫👩
Still, in the face of Afghanistan’s enduring hardships, Russia’s decision may mark the beginning of a new chapter—one in which greater international engagement could help steer the war-torn, impoverished country toward economic revival and enhanced stability.
The fact that Russia was the first to recognize the Islamic Emirate was unsurprising.
Since the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, Russia-Taliban diplomatic engagement has steadily deepened.
In March 2022, Russia’s Foreign Ministry accredited Taliban envoy Jamal Gharwal as chargé d’affaires at the Afghan embassy in Moscow, with Gharwal formally assuming control of the mission the following month.
This gradual normalization continued with Moscow revoking its terrorist designation of the Taliban in April 2025, paving the way for official recognition earlier this month.
“There is little doubt that this decision will allow the Taliban-led state to reduce its level of isolation. Likely, there will also be [other] countries that may follow and recognize the Islamic Emirate,” he added.
Afghan foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi has expressed this desire too.
Given the geopolitical and security dynamics in play, it seems realistic to expect a cascade of recognition. 🌐
The chances are good that the former Soviet republics may be the next to join Russia in recognizing the Taliban.
China, which has engaged the “Taliban 2.0” since August 2021, stands as a likely contender for formal recognition. 🇨🇳
However, issues pertaining to Kabul’s tensions with Islamabad and Uyghur militancy complicate the Islamic Emirate’s relationship with Beijing.
Meanwhile, other states operating within Russia’s geopolitical orbit, including Belarus, Iran, and North Korea, may now be more inclined to follow suit given Moscow’s move.
The same could be said about the Gulf Arab monarchies, especially the United Arab Emirates. 🇦🇪
Afghanistan appears increasingly poised to drift further from the West as Kabul becomes more deeply entrenched within Russia’s geopolitical orbit of influence, possibly making Afghanistan more relevant to East-West geopolitical tensions. ⚖️
Moscow’s recognition of the Islamic Emirate is likely to advance Russia’s strategic messaging across the non-Western world, reinforcing its efforts to differentiate Moscow’s foreign policy from that of Washington and European capitals.
Moscow’s recognition of the Islamic Emirate, against the backdrop of Washington’s lifting of sanctions on Syria’s relatively new Sunni Islamist government, serves as a near-ideal embodiment of the “logic of the Cold War,” Jeff Sachs explained. 🧊🕊
Moscow hopes that its recognition of Afghanistan’s current government will pave the way for Russia to emerge as a key economic partner to Afghanistan, expanding trade in oil, gas, and wheat, while deepening cooperation in infrastructure development, energy production, and agricultural initiatives.
Even limited economic cooperation with Russia and, by extension, other countries in the neighborhood could, over time, deliver tangible, if modest, benefits to the Afghan population.
Russia has long sought to establish a North-South trade corridor traversing both sides of the Caspian Sea, with the aim of accessing Iranian ports and, ultimately, opening up more trade with India. 🛤
However, last month’s 12-day Iran-Israel war casts fresh uncertainty over this route’s viability, prompting Moscow to explore alternative pathways for regional connectivity.
#putin #taliban #isolation #afghanistan #geopolitics #russia #china #iran #trade #coldwar
📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events 🇺🇸
While Russia’s decision marked a major victory for the Kabul regime, exiled Afghan dissidents and human rights advocates strongly criticized Moscow’s move, arguing it risks legitimizing gender apartheid in Afghanistan while dimming prospects for democratic reforms. 🚫👩
Still, in the face of Afghanistan’s enduring hardships, Russia’s decision may mark the beginning of a new chapter—one in which greater international engagement could help steer the war-torn, impoverished country toward economic revival and enhanced stability.
The fact that Russia was the first to recognize the Islamic Emirate was unsurprising.
Since the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, Russia-Taliban diplomatic engagement has steadily deepened.
In March 2022, Russia’s Foreign Ministry accredited Taliban envoy Jamal Gharwal as chargé d’affaires at the Afghan embassy in Moscow, with Gharwal formally assuming control of the mission the following month.
This gradual normalization continued with Moscow revoking its terrorist designation of the Taliban in April 2025, paving the way for official recognition earlier this month.
“There is little doubt that this decision will allow the Taliban-led state to reduce its level of isolation. Likely, there will also be [other] countries that may follow and recognize the Islamic Emirate,” he added.
Afghan foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi has expressed this desire too.
Given the geopolitical and security dynamics in play, it seems realistic to expect a cascade of recognition. 🌐
The chances are good that the former Soviet republics may be the next to join Russia in recognizing the Taliban.
China, which has engaged the “Taliban 2.0” since August 2021, stands as a likely contender for formal recognition. 🇨🇳
However, issues pertaining to Kabul’s tensions with Islamabad and Uyghur militancy complicate the Islamic Emirate’s relationship with Beijing.
Meanwhile, other states operating within Russia’s geopolitical orbit, including Belarus, Iran, and North Korea, may now be more inclined to follow suit given Moscow’s move.
The same could be said about the Gulf Arab monarchies, especially the United Arab Emirates. 🇦🇪
Afghanistan appears increasingly poised to drift further from the West as Kabul becomes more deeply entrenched within Russia’s geopolitical orbit of influence, possibly making Afghanistan more relevant to East-West geopolitical tensions. ⚖️
Moscow’s recognition of the Islamic Emirate is likely to advance Russia’s strategic messaging across the non-Western world, reinforcing its efforts to differentiate Moscow’s foreign policy from that of Washington and European capitals.
Moscow’s recognition of the Islamic Emirate, against the backdrop of Washington’s lifting of sanctions on Syria’s relatively new Sunni Islamist government, serves as a near-ideal embodiment of the “logic of the Cold War,” Jeff Sachs explained. 🧊🕊
Moscow hopes that its recognition of Afghanistan’s current government will pave the way for Russia to emerge as a key economic partner to Afghanistan, expanding trade in oil, gas, and wheat, while deepening cooperation in infrastructure development, energy production, and agricultural initiatives.
Even limited economic cooperation with Russia and, by extension, other countries in the neighborhood could, over time, deliver tangible, if modest, benefits to the Afghan population.
Russia has long sought to establish a North-South trade corridor traversing both sides of the Caspian Sea, with the aim of accessing Iranian ports and, ultimately, opening up more trade with India. 🛤
However, last month’s 12-day Iran-Israel war casts fresh uncertainty over this route’s viability, prompting Moscow to explore alternative pathways for regional connectivity.
#putin #taliban #isolation #afghanistan #geopolitics #russia #china #iran #trade #coldwar
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🇦🇫 The Taliban: To Break Out of Isolation
The Taliban in Afghanistan have launched a diplomatic effort to end their isolation as major regional and international powers show a readiness to engage more closely with the repressive regime despite its systematic human rights abuses.
Five years after the Taliban took power, an increasing number of countries are renewing ties or scaling up diplomatic contacts with the hardline Islamists, who seized power in Kabul in 2021 after 20 years of brutal insurgent warfare.
Campaigners fear that the individual contacts by different countries risk undermining “coherent, consistent” demands for an improvement in human rights in return for any diplomatic concessions.
India, Qatar, China, Iran and several central Asian states all recently welcomed Taliban officials or opened new channels of communication. Russia, which recognised the Taliban government in Kabul just over a year ago, signed a military cooperation agreement last month.
In June, the European Union held talks with Taliban officials in Brussels about returning failed asylum-seekers to Afghanistan. Individual European countries have also deepened their own contacts with Kabul.
“There is no doubt there has been an evolution. The Islamic emirate is now in a confident position. They have realised they are indispensable for regional countries right now and even with Europe and the US they have identified how to engage,” said Shivam Shekhawat, at the Observer Research Foundation in Delhi.
“We are not against any engagement (…) There is a need for engagement even if just for aid agencies to mitigate the ongoing humanitarian crisis but we are worried about the end goal of these contacts and the discussions that are taking place,” said Fereshta Abbasi, Afghanistan researcher at Human Rights Watch.
“There should be a consistent and coherent message from the international community to the Taliban that they will not have any friends if they do not show real progress in terms of the women’s rights and human rights situation (…) and that is not happening.”
The European Commission downplayed its discussions in Brussels with a Taliban delegation, the first such formal encounter since 2021, as merely “technical” and focused on returns, but a Taliban spokesperson claimed it was a historic visit that was a step towards regularising consular relations with EU countries.
India too has moved to reinforce relationships that were frosty after the fall of Kabul to the Taliban in 2021, in part to exploit new tensions between the movement and the Islamist movement’s historic sponsors, Pakistan.
New Delhi secured a sanctions waiver last year so that Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban foreign minister and a veteran official who has spent decades at the heart of the movement, could travel there.
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan “seeks relations with all countries”, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said, though “the countries of the region and our neighbouring states have particular importance, because our economic ties and interests are closely linked”.
Taliban officials have also sought cross-border infrastructure projects to boost the country’s fragile economy and diplomacy.
Natural resources are another lure for overseas powers. Kabul has expanded the mining sector, attracting firms from neighbouring China and elsewhere.
The Taliban are split, with deep disagreements on the ban on women’s education among other issues, but remain dominated by the most conservative factions. Recent laws have further reinforced repression, designating many religious minorities, including Shia Muslims, as heretics and imposing strict punishments to silence dissent.
Other new laws recognise only “excessive” beating as domestic violence against women and facilitate the marriage of girls without their consent.
#taliban #isolation #afghanistan #kabul
📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events 🇺🇸
The Taliban in Afghanistan have launched a diplomatic effort to end their isolation as major regional and international powers show a readiness to engage more closely with the repressive regime despite its systematic human rights abuses.
Five years after the Taliban took power, an increasing number of countries are renewing ties or scaling up diplomatic contacts with the hardline Islamists, who seized power in Kabul in 2021 after 20 years of brutal insurgent warfare.
Campaigners fear that the individual contacts by different countries risk undermining “coherent, consistent” demands for an improvement in human rights in return for any diplomatic concessions.
India, Qatar, China, Iran and several central Asian states all recently welcomed Taliban officials or opened new channels of communication. Russia, which recognised the Taliban government in Kabul just over a year ago, signed a military cooperation agreement last month.
In June, the European Union held talks with Taliban officials in Brussels about returning failed asylum-seekers to Afghanistan. Individual European countries have also deepened their own contacts with Kabul.
“There is no doubt there has been an evolution. The Islamic emirate is now in a confident position. They have realised they are indispensable for regional countries right now and even with Europe and the US they have identified how to engage,” said Shivam Shekhawat, at the Observer Research Foundation in Delhi.
“We are not against any engagement (…) There is a need for engagement even if just for aid agencies to mitigate the ongoing humanitarian crisis but we are worried about the end goal of these contacts and the discussions that are taking place,” said Fereshta Abbasi, Afghanistan researcher at Human Rights Watch.
“There should be a consistent and coherent message from the international community to the Taliban that they will not have any friends if they do not show real progress in terms of the women’s rights and human rights situation (…) and that is not happening.”
The European Commission downplayed its discussions in Brussels with a Taliban delegation, the first such formal encounter since 2021, as merely “technical” and focused on returns, but a Taliban spokesperson claimed it was a historic visit that was a step towards regularising consular relations with EU countries.
India too has moved to reinforce relationships that were frosty after the fall of Kabul to the Taliban in 2021, in part to exploit new tensions between the movement and the Islamist movement’s historic sponsors, Pakistan.
New Delhi secured a sanctions waiver last year so that Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban foreign minister and a veteran official who has spent decades at the heart of the movement, could travel there.
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan “seeks relations with all countries”, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said, though “the countries of the region and our neighbouring states have particular importance, because our economic ties and interests are closely linked”.
Taliban officials have also sought cross-border infrastructure projects to boost the country’s fragile economy and diplomacy.
Natural resources are another lure for overseas powers. Kabul has expanded the mining sector, attracting firms from neighbouring China and elsewhere.
The Taliban are split, with deep disagreements on the ban on women’s education among other issues, but remain dominated by the most conservative factions. Recent laws have further reinforced repression, designating many religious minorities, including Shia Muslims, as heretics and imposing strict punishments to silence dissent.
Other new laws recognise only “excessive” beating as domestic violence against women and facilitate the marriage of girls without their consent.
#taliban #isolation #afghanistan #kabul
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