"America's friends will never trust the US again" Bloomberg opinion

[Disaffected]

5. Not wrong at all, IMO.

The problem is, the US has a history of swinging between good and bad governance and it is next to impossible to foretell when the next swing will happen and, what its consequences will be. This makes any form of long-term planning next to impossible so other, more stable, countries have no choice but to diminish reliance on the US and turn to alternatives (NATO and international trade being prime examples).

And who would now want to invest billions in the US because of US tariffs and have it pulled from beneath their feet when a more moderate government is elected and tariffs are removed? Or when those efforts to build in the US are thwarted by government actions such as the arrest and expulsion of Korean workers at the new Hyundai auto plant?

Another example is Keystone XL which was approved by Trump, cancelled by Biden and re-approved by Trump, all this after tens of billions were already spent on the project by TC Energy. TC Energy said screw this after Trump offered to re-approve the project and who could blame them??

The US has a very long road ahead before trust by other countries is ever restored.