Trump, Central Eurasia, and the Geoeconomics of Energy and Infrastructure

• In Event: Statecraft and Geoeconomics: Impacts on Energy and Infrastructure in Central Eurasia

Abstract

The Trump administration has radically shifted US economic priorities from the Obama-Biden era, favoring oil and gas over renewables and go-it-alone manufacturing in place of interdependent supply chains. Geographically, Trump is punishing old allies in North America and Europe while floating the readmission of Russia to the G7. What do these still-evolving policies portend for U.S. strategic interests in Central Eurasia? The paper will assess whether Biden-era initiatives on commerce, critical minerals, transport corridors, and people-people exchanges, outlined in the 2023 New York Declaration, could further the professed Trump Administration goal to advance American geoeconomic interests while containing China. Can adroit diplomacy and investments by the United States facilitate a promising paradigm shift that makes Central Eurasia more competitive globally while ensuring a long-term U.S. presence in the emerging Eurasian supercontinent? If so, what would be the impact on American leadership, vis-à-vis Russia and China, of reintroducing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and discouraging environmental and social standards, particularly in mining investments?

Author

• Marsha McGraw Olive, Johns Hopkins U