Where Trump and Harris stand on global issues ahead of the U.S. election

(Illustration by Kat Brooks/The Washington Post; iStock)

The new president will face a host of foreign policy challenges including immigration, climate change and wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.

By Annabelle Timsit, Kelsey Ables, Niha Masih and Adela Suliman November 4, 2024 WPost

Presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have presented two vastly different visions for the United States’ place in the world, and the American people are poised to make a decision on Election Day that will ripple far beyond their borders.

Whoever wins, the new president will be faced with the world’s most intractable issues. The conflict in the Middle East continues to rage. Funding for Ukraine hangs in the balance. And climate change poses a global threat. Trump promises to reverse what he sees as a lack of respect for the United States on the world stage with his “America First” approach. Harris has cast herself as the candidate who will “strengthen, not abdicate, our global leadership.”

Here’s what to know about where each candidate stands on some of the most pressing global issues.

War in the Middle East

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An immediate challenge for the next president will be containing the widening war in the Middle East and achieving a cease-fire to free the hostages seized from Israel and held by militants in Gaza while ramping up aid to Palestinians living in conditions top United Nations officials have described as “apocalyptic.”

Trump has broadly called for an end to the war in Gaza but has not been explicit about a path to achieve it. Privately, he has offered support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his country’s offensives against Hamas and Hezbollah — telling him in a recent call to “do what you have to do.” James Carafano, a fellow at the right-wing think tank Heritage Foundation and who was part of the first Trump administration’s presidential transition team, said that “I don’t think the cease-fire [in Gaza] is his priority” and that Trump will probably “not constrain Israel in any way in how it responds or threatens to respond” to Iran, Hezbollah or Hamas.

Harris has spoken forcefully about the suffering of Palestinians during the war. The Washington Post has reported that if she wins, she is likely to conduct a “full analysis” of U.S.-Israel policy and imposing conditions on some aid to Israel could be on the table. But Israeli officials are divided on how much they think Harris would change President Joe Biden’s policy of military support. Israel is likely to continue “largely as it sees fit” if there is a Harris win, Brian Katulis, senior fellow for U.S. foreign policy at the Middle East Institute, told The Post.

NATO alliance

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Harris’s campaign said that she will defend U.S. alliances, including the NATO military bloc, which she called “ironclad.” Yet European officials say they see Harris, despite four years as vice president, as a relative unknown who may not have the same substantive and emotional attachment to NATO as Biden, who was born during World War II and has experience dealing with Russia as a U.S. senator during the Cold War.

Trump took a more adversarial approach with the transatlantic military alliance as president, hammering members for what he called their financial overreliance on the United States. He suggested on the campaign trail that he would encourage Russia to attack NATO countries that don’t increase their defense spending and may consider leaving the 75-year-old alliance originally designed to counter the Soviet Union.

European policymakers largely don’t believe Trump would withdraw, though his former national security adviser, John Bolton, has told The Post that “he’s never lost the desire to get out.” But few think he will maintain the status quo, either, and NATO members have quietly moved to Trump-proof the organization. Trump called for “fundamentally reevaluating NATO’s purpose and NATO’s mission” on the trail.

Climate change

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The words Harris and Trump use when talking about climate change show vastly different views: To Harris, it’s an “existential threat.” To Trump, who has long rejected climate science, it’s a “hoax.”

Harris has committed to tackling it with international cooperation, and experts expect Harris to pursue an array of climate actions with potential global impact. Harris backs the U.S. pledge to slash planet-warming emissions by at least 50 percent by 2030, compared with 2005 levels. The landmark 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which passed with Harris’s tiebreaker vote, poured billions in federal funds into speeding up the green energy transition.

 “I expect that a Harris administration would issue stronger emission standards for passenger cars and for heavy-duty vehicles like trucks and buses and expand the electric vehicle charging network,” said Michael Gerrard, founder of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University.

Politicians seeking to tackle climate change globally fear such efforts could stall under Trump. As president, he rolled back or eliminated more than 100 regulations designed to protect U.S. land, air and water. Now he is pledging to immediately reverse dozens of Biden’s environmental rules and policies and stop new ones from being enacted.

Trump has also promised to once again exit the landmark Paris climate accord, arguing it places an unfair burden on the United States. His pullout from the deal to reduce carbon emissions alarmed climate scientists and experts, and Biden rejoined after his 2020 election. “We’re gonna do it again,” Trump said in a recent TV interview.

Trade with China

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“Strategic competition between the United States and China is poised to intensify no matter who assumes the U.S. presidency in January 2025,” Ali Wyne, an expert on U.S.-China relations at the International Crisis Group, told The Post.

Trump has threatened to scale up economic attacks on Beijing and is considering measures that are widely viewed as likely to spark a global trade war. He has publicly floated the idea of enacting a 10 to 20 percent tariff on nearly all imports, in addition to privately discussing significantly increasing tariffs on Chinese imports, by as much as 60 percent.

Economists from both parties say this could drive huge disruptions in the United States and global economies far exceeding the impact of the trade wars during Trump’s first term. Proponents of Trump’s approach say tariffs can help return manufacturing jobs to the United States, but in the past, some experts have found they resulted in net job losses.

Harris, who also views Beijing as a strategic and economic threat to the United States, is largely expected to continue the policies of the Biden administration, which maintained many of the protectionist measures from Trump’s term and finalized regulations last month limiting U.S. investment in Chinese development of technologies with military applications.

While Harris has stressed that she does not seek conflict with Beijing and has hit Trump for the cost of the tariffs imposed on China when he was president, her platform suggests that she would go after what the United States considers to be “China’s unfair trade practices.” This could include punitive measures such as tariffs, as well as investing in domestic production and alternative supply chains to reduce U.S. dependence on Chinese goods.

Aid for Ukraine

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Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, have expressed deep skepticism over continuing the United States’ financial aid to Ukraine, while Harris has promised “unwavering” support for Kyiv and met with President Volodymyr Zelensky a half-dozen times since Russia invaded in 2022.

Ukrainian officials told The Post that they believe Harris would maintain the status quo if elected. But they’re increasingly lamenting that this White House is too cautious about avoiding escalation with Russia, and that their requests for stronger weapons and looser restrictions on their use have been delayed or rebuffed.

On the other hand, some in Zelensky’s government worry Trump would push for Ukraine to make territorial concessions — which they have been adamantly against and would drive fresh splits within Europe. Trump has also boasted of being able to settle the conflict — now lurching into its third year — “as president-elect before I take office on January 20th.” He has offered no detailed plan.

The Kremlin has been outwardly cool about whom it wants in the White House, but Russian state media has been overwhelmingly flattering of Trump, who has touted a “very good relationship” with Russian President Vladimir Putin and may have spoken with him as many as seven times since leaving office.

Immigration

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Immigration was central to Trump’s campaign as polls showed voters broadly disapproving of the Biden administration’s handling of the border with Mexico. He aggressively pursued policies to limit legal immigration in his first term — and his 2024 platform signals that he would do it again. Near the top of the Trump campaign’s agenda is a promise to “carry out the largest deportation operation in American history.” U.S. authorities lack the capacity to round up and deport millions of immigrants, but Trump said he’ll use National Guard troops.

The United States and Mexico, in particular, could feel “devastating effects” as a result of massive deportations, according to a research paper written in part by the North American Integration and Development center at the University of California at Los Angeles. The paper notes the two countries are “highly interdependent through dense migration, remittance and trade relations.”

Harris’s immigration role for the Biden administration has included boosting U.S. aid to Central America and discouraging potential migrants in that region from making the dangerous journey to the United States. Efforts to address the root causes of migration were overcome by a surge of illegal crossings at the southern border during much of her vice presidency. Harris pledged to revive the push for a bipartisan border security bill that Trump opposed and Republicans torpedoed this year. The legislation would have invested billions of dollars in border security, allowed U.S. officials to suspend asylum processing when crossings surge and deployed technology to detect and intercept fentanyl and other drugs.

Christian Shepherd, Loveday Morris, Steve Hendrix, Kate Brady, Anthony Faiola and Ellen Francis contributed to this report.

Onus on Beijing to rebuild trust

 

Canada alleges Indian Home Minister Amit Shah ordered campaign targeting Sikh separatists

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Canada alleges Indian Home Minister Amit Shah ordered campaign targeting Sikh separatists

Canada has alleged that Indian Home Minister Amit Shah ordered a campaign of violence, intimidation and intelligence-gathering targeting Sikh separatists inside Canada

By Associated Press October 29, 2024 

OTTAWA, Ontario — A Canadian official alleged Tuesday that Indian Home Minister Amit Shah ordered a campaign of violence, intimidation and intelligence-gathering targeting Sikh separatists inside Canada .

Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison told Parliament members of the national security committee that he had confirmed Shah’s name to The Washington Post, which first reported the allegations.

Policemen guard a road leading to the Canadian
high commissionin New Delhi, India, Tuesday,
Oct. 15, 2024 (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

“The journalist called me and asked if it was that person. I confirmed it was that person,” Morrison told the committee.

Morrison did not say how Canada knew of Shah’s alleged involvement.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said a year ago that Canada had credible evidence agents of the Indian government were involved in the murder of Canadian Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia in June 2023.

Canadian authorities have repeatedly said they have shared evidence of that with Indian authorities. 

Indian government officials have repeatedly denied Canada has provided evidence and have called the allegations absurd. India’s embassy in Ottawa didn’t immediately respond to messages for a request for comment on the allegation against Shah.

On Oct. 14, Canada expelled the Indian high commissioner and five other diplomats, alleging they were persons of interest in multiple cases of coercion, intimidation and violence aimed at quieting a campaign for an independent Sikh state known as Khalistan .

Canada is not the only country that has accused Indian officials of plotting an assassination on foreign soil. The United States Justice Department announced criminal charges in mid-October against an Indian government employee in connection with an alleged foiled plot to kill a Sikh separatist leader living in New York City.

In the case announced by the Justice Department, Vikash Yadav, who authorities say directed the New York plot from India, faces murder-for-hire charges in a planned killing that prosecutors have previously said was meant to precede a string of other politically motivated murders in the United States and Canada.

Nathalie Drouin, Trudeau’s national security adviser, told the committee Tuesday that Canada has evidence the Indian government first gathered information on Indian nationals and Canadian citizens in Canada through diplomatic channels and proxies.

She said the information was then passed to the government in New Delhi, which allegedly works with a criminal network affiliated with Lawrence Bishnoi.

Bishnoi is currently in prison in India, but Drouin said his vast criminal network has been linked to homicides, assassination plots, coercion and other violent crimes in Canada.

Before the Royal Canadian Mounted Police went public with allegations that Indian diplomats were persons of interest in criminal investigations, Drouin said there was an effort to work with the Indian government to ensure accountability.

Drouin said a meeting was held with Modi’s national security adviser, Ajit Doval, in Singapore two days earlier.

She said the decision was made to go public when it became evident the Indian government would not cooperate with Canada on proposed accountability measures.

That included asking India to waive diplomatic immunity for the persons of interest, including the high commissioner in Ottawa. Drouin said this was not seen as likely.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said it took the extraordinary step of talking publicly about ongoing investigations because of threats to public safety.

The Indian government denies the allegations and has expelled six Canadian diplomats in return .

Nijjar, 45, was fatally shot in his pickup truck after he left the Sikh temple he led in Surrey, British Columbia. An Indian-born citizen of Canada, he owned a plumbing business and was a leader in what remains of a once-strong movement to create an independent Sikh homeland.

Four Indian nationals living in Canada were charged with Niijar’s murder and are awaiting trial.

Drouin and Morrison were called as witnesses at the committee alongside Royal Canadian Mounted Police Commissioner Mike Duheme, as well as the director of Canada’s spy service⍐.

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வேலைநிறுத்தப் போராட்டத்தை ஆரம்பித்த புகையிரத நிலைய அதிபர்கள்

File Photo SL Railway

புகையிரத நிலைய அதிபர்கள் சங்கம் உடனடியாக அமுலுக்கு வரும் வகையில் வேலைநிறுத்தப் போராட்டத்தை ஆரம்பித்துள்ளதாக புகையிரத அதிபர்கள் சங்கத் தலைவர் சுமேத சோமரத்ன தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.

போக்குவரத்து அமைச்சருடனான கலந்துரையாடலைத் தொடர்ந்து குறித்த தீர்மானம் எடுக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

புகையிரத நிலைய அதிபர்கள் தொழிற்சங்கப் போராட்டத்தில் ஈடுபட்டாலும் புகையிரத சேவைகள் வழமை போன்ற இயங்குவதுடன், பயணிகள் பயணச்சீட்டு இன்றி பயணிக்கலாம்.

மேலும் இருக்கைகளுக்கான முன்பதிவுகளையும் பொதிகளுக்கான சேவைகளையும் முன்னெடுக்கப்போவதி்ல்லையெனவும் பயணிகளுக்கு இடையூறு ஏற்படாத வகையில் குறித்த போராட்டம் முன்னெடுக்கப்படும் எனவும் சுமேத சோமரத்ன தெரிவித்தார்.

Station Masters to launch immediate strike over unresolved issues

Colombo, October 30 (Daily Mirror) - Following a discussion today to inform the Transport Minister, the Sri Lanka Railways Station Masters' Union (SLRSMU) has decided to launch their trade union action in response to unresolved administrative issues within the Railways Department.

Addressing the media, SLRSMU President Sumedha Somarathne said the decision was made following a meeting with the union's executive committee.

"During the strike, trains will run as per schedule, and passengers will be able to travel without tickets. Station Masters have refrained from issuing tickets, handling seat reservations, and transporting parcels. The strike will not affect train services, and trains are operating as normal," he said.

The SLRSMU informed the coordinating secretary who attended the meeting on behalf of the Minister but did not provide any solutions to their administrative issues, including the delayed promotions that occur every five years.

"We informed the relevant authorities to update the train timetable, as the train service is coming to a standstill day by day, with issues such as issuing season tickets for schoolchildren and employees, frequent train cancellations, and the increase in derailments," Somarathne stated.

The strike action will be launched with minimal inconvenience to commuters.

Somarathne also urged the President and Prime Minister to intervene in the issue and take action against government officials who have misused public funds. 

Station Masters’ union set to strike over recruitment violations

By

 Mithun Jayawardena

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October 29, 2024

By Mithun Jayawardhana

The Sri Lanka Railways Station Masters’ Union (SLRSMU) has announced it will initiate immediate trade union action in protest against the recruitment of station masters, which they claim violates established procedures. The union has declared that the strike will commence within the next 72 hours.

The SLRSMU’s decision comes in response to what it views as irregularities in the recruitment process for the post of ‘Railway Station Master.’ The union states that the agreed-upon recruitment procedure, developed after multiple rounds of negotiations, has not received approval due to the opposition from the regulatory union.

In a statement, the union expressed frustration over the government’s failure to implement the recruitment framework, designed to ensure fairness and transparency in the hiring process. The union further noted that, despite Cabinet approval for appointing Station Masters and Railway Controllers every five years through an internal departmental examination, salary conversions for controllers have been executed based on the results of an outdated exam.

The union has indicated that it will escalate its actions if the authorities fail to take prompt steps to resolve the ongoing dispute⍐.

‘Freeing’ free trade zones

• Pvt. report notes need for legal/attitudinal changes 
• FTZ workers face exploitation, lack of legal protection, negative industry practices, etc.  

29 Oct 2024 | BY Sumudu Chamara The Morning

Despite the garment sector being one of the most economically important sectors in Sri Lanka, the sector is facing a plethora of issues in terms of the exploitation of labour, the lack of legal protections, and various industry practices that adversely impact employees. In response to these perennial issues, better work environments need to be established, and legal and attitudinal changes are also required.

This situation was reiterated in a report issued by a workers’ tribunal set up by the Standup Movement Sri Lanka organisation to look into the rights of Free Trade Zone (FTZ) employees. Based on the responses received by the tribunal from FTZ employees, a number of recommendations were issued to improve the working conditions of FTZ employees, especially women and the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning, and persons with diverse sexual orientations and/or gender identities (LGBTQ plus).

Improving the employees’ morale 

Noting that there is a pressing necessity to improve the employees’ morale, the report said that there needs to be an opportunity to build meaningful relationships between employees and co-workers that would benefit all employees and factories. When employees are happy where they are at in the workplace and with what they do at work, the report said, they will be mentally and physically strong and are less likely to look for employment opportunities elsewhere.

“Trust is key to building psychological safety in employees. They all need to feel that the people that they work with have confidence in them to do their jobs. Feeling trusted helps them to develop a strong sense of belonging at work and that they are able to do their jobs effectively,”it added.

Change toxic work environment 

The report identified another significant challenge that needs to be addressed, the existing un-friendly, toxic work environment: “This toxic work environment in factories is detrimental to workers’ mental and physical health. If you stay too long, it can lead to high stress levels, poor self esteem, and depression. Toxic leadership can permeate an organisation and create a hostile work environment that promotes disrespect and a sense of being undervalued.”

Addressing toxic leadership, the report said, requires developing strategies to deal with it. It added that addressing toxic leadership may involve seeking support from colleagues, human resource departments, or outside experts. As per the report, this may also involve developing communication skills to address toxic behaviours, setting boundaries, and developing a positive workplace culture. 

The existence and impacts of unhealthy and unsafe working conditions were also identified by the tribunal’s report. By ‘unhealthy and unsafe working conditions’, the report referred to any situation in which employees are exposed to hazards that could cause physical harm or illness, and the report added that these hazards could include anything from dangerous machinery and chemicals to poor lighting and ventilation. 

“When we consider the health condition of the interviewed workers of garment factories, we find that they suffer from eye, ear and lung damage as well as pain. Although the Board of Investment has established industrial safety standards, they are not implemented. The reason for these health issues are complaints about (working) conditions that include limited access to toilets, poor ventilation, headache, back pain, vision loss, being yelled at, and publicly humiliated. Every worker’s basic physical development should be checked and reported in regular intervals by an in-house doctor. The doctor should also educate the local community about health care and its importance.”

The report raised the importance of creating awork culture that allows for a work-life balance: “Factory work hours are often much longer than the pay that they earn. Especially when they have no medical insurance or work benefits and when the cost of living is sky high, factory workers will have to work multiple jobs where there are fewer hours of rest and there is subsequent fatigue. A lack of medical assistance and low job security further leave the factory workers anxious and stressed. Also, an essential step toward employee retention is creating a work culture that promotes work-life balance. It is crucial to note that a workplace with the right work-life balance ensures business success resulting in higher productivity, better employee engagement, and higher returns.”

Working hours

The report paid attention to issues relating to working hours as well, adding that due to the absence of a legitimate contract, long working hours is a common problem faced by many workers. Adding that many garment workers are often forced to work 12 to 14 hours a day and seven days a week, the report said that their basic wages are so low that they cannot refuse overtime work. It raised concerns that many would be fired if they refused to work overtime, and that in some cases, overtime is not even paid at all.

Trainings and awareness

Organising awareness and training programmes regarding certain matters such as equality and inclusion were also highlighted in the report.

It added: “Issues of equality and sustainability go hand in hand. Discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community at work leads to greater exposure to injustice. Lack of access to safe working environments where the LGBTQ+ workers are discriminated leaves them in distress. Gender-based discrimination against transgender workers leads them to experience higher rates of violence and humiliation. Training workshops and awareness programmes can be arranged to bring awareness among employers and employees. In factories, there should be protections that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identities, and factory managements should voice their support for employment protections and workplace fairness for gay and transgender workers. Workplace climates should become more accepting or at least tolerant overall, and there should be protections afforded to women, transgender, senior, and disabled persons. Factories can obtain the help of the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs, the Ministry of Health, and international non-Governmental organisations (INGOs) or NGOs which could illustrate certain concepts, technically emphasising respect, inclusion, and the importance of diversity. The exhibition of visual aids such as creative posters with very simple language and illustrations that convey messages about respect and inclusion is necessary. Fostering an environment where factory workers feel safe to work with others without others judgement is also very important.”

The report noted that consistent awareness among the factory staff irrespective of their role and integrating themes of respect and acceptance into regular meetings as well as factory communication are important. It added that bullying or humiliation of another by peers should be discouraged. 

With regard to holding awareness programmes on holidays, the report said that if awareness programmes can be arranged on holidays with the provision of food and an incentive, the participation of factory workers will be higher. Adding that it is very necessary to provide effective counselling for workers to ensure that they can easily navigate their negative feelings and be self-confident, it was explained that raising awareness among factory workers about human rights, labour rights and even wages is very crucial for many reasons. Knowledge and understanding of their rights will give the factory workers a sense of empowerment and they would be able to advocate for themselves even without any help of unions, according to the report’s findings.

Among the matters about which the report recommended awareness raising programmes are the Employees’ Provident Fund and Employees’ Trust Fund. Adding that such education will help workers to know whether they are paid fairly, the report added that it would also encourage them to question any injustice. 

“Educated workers are hardly vulnerable to any exploitation such as illegal deductions from wages and unpaid overtime. Also, if soft skills are enhanced in workers, that would pave the way for harmony and solidarity among factory workers. That would make it easier for them to organise soon and negotiate for better terms. If legal protections can be provided for factory workers, the factory managements will minimise their negative practices and injustices, and factory workers will always seek justice when their rights are violated.”

Communication barriers

According to the report, one problem encountered by factory workers was the language barrier. Adding that there were factory workers who went through many issues due to their inability to understand the Sinhala language, the report said that their first language being Tamil and not being fluent in the English language was also an issue: “Some factory workers went through many issues at factories where the majority of the people are of the same nationality. When the majority speaks in their language for the whole 12 hours, others at work can feel uncomfortable. They feel scared to speak up, and some could often gang up on them and can be very rude when they ask for help.”

“Many employers now provide pay slips electronically. However, employers must ensure that their electronic pay slips meet certain requirements to comply with applicable laws and regulations. Also, if pay slips can be printed in a language that is requested by the payee, it would be significantly useful. Promoting multilingualism in factories can enhance communication and collaboration. Language training programmes can be held, where language classes are offered for employees to learn key phrases and vocabulary relevant to them. Also, multilingual signage, i.e. signs,labels, posters, and instructions, in multiple languages should be used. Moreover, it is very effective to hire supervisors and employees who are multilingual to bridge communication gaps.”

Noting that it is very important to maintain a fair and just working environment at factories, the report added that both parties, i.e. employers as well as employees, must engage in constructive dialogue to resolve outstanding issues amicably⍐.