16 Wednesday August 21, 2019
FORUM
By Adam Garrie
John Bolton has a reputation for being a
staunchly pro-war/pro-interventionism
National Security Advisor in the White
House. This is why it was somewhat odd
that on his recent visit to the UK from
August 11 to 13, Bolton appeared to play
the role of a trade negotiator.
On the surface, Bolton’s meetings in
London appeared to go rather well. Un-
like the more pro-Brussels former Brit-
ish prime minister Theresa May, Boris
Johnson’s government is increasingly
emblematic of a strand of British po-
litical thought that is wholly pro-US. As
post-Brexit Britain will need many new
trade deals across the world, Johnson’s
team has prioritized a potentially game-
changing FTA (free trade agreement)
with the US.
But while Britain has traditionally
benefited from being a free trading na-
tion, an FTA with the US must not be
used to cut Britain off from additional
global trading opportunities. There is no
reason why Britain, for example, cannot
make new and expansive trading agree-
ments with countries as diverse as the
US and also major Asian economies,
ranging from China and South Korea to
Singapore and India.
Under normal circumstances, noth-
ing would prevent the UK from signing
multiple FTAs and similar deals around
the world. However, the US has devel-
oped a reputation for attaching strings
to some of its trading agreements. The
new US-Mexico-Canada Agreement,
for example, gives Washington effective
veto power over the two smaller part-
ners’ ability to ratify their own FTAs with
third parties.
When it comes to Bolton’s offer to
the UK, a major sticking point has been
Huawei. The UK is set to use Huawei
technology to build the country’s 5G net-
work. As Britain’s current 4G network
has fallen behind many similar sized
European countries, it is all the more
crucial to catch up by developing a 5G
network that could potentially revolu-
tionize data speeds throughout the UK.
Although Britain shares many global
concerns with the US, thus far, the UK
has not adopted US unilateral position
on Huawei. The US continues to name
Huawei as a threat to its national secu-
rity in spite of the fact that Huawei hard-
ware and software being used across the
globe have not once resulted in any ac-
tivity that compromises security. More-over, Huawei has been completely trans-
parent about its 5G technology driving
civilian consumer products rather than
anything related to the intelligence com-
munity.
At a time when the world faces in-
creasing global economic uncertainties,
the UK cannot afford to shortchange
its own technological development by
following the US into an anti-Huawei
position. Even the US with its own high-
tech industrial base has thus far fallen
behind Huawei in terms of 5G devel-
opment. For Britain there is literally
no suitable 5G choice for industry nor
for consumers other than Huawei and
therefore if Johnson’s government is not
able to stand up to John Bolton on this
matter, it is the British consumer and
British businesses that will suffer dur-
ing already challenging times.
The key to any special relationship is
one that is able to make compromises
in pursuit of win-win outcomes. This
is the way China continues to deal with
its multiple trading partners across the
globe. As such, there is no reason, from
China’s perspective, why the UK cannot
expand trade in a post-Brexit era with
both the US and China. From UK’s per-
spective, it would be foolish to cut outeither of the world’s two largest econo-
mies in a post-Brexit era as expanded
trade with China and the US would af-
ford British producers and consumers
the widest possible variety of commer-
cial opportunities for the long term.
Bolton did not receive the definitive
agreement on Huawei that he appeared
to have sought and in future months it
will be essential for the UK to defend its
interests when it comes to Huawei. Un-
less the UK wants to develop a reputa-
tion for being far behind on mobile data
technology, Huawei is the only sound
option. Moreover, there is nothing about
Huawei building Britain’s new 5G net-
work that in any way negatively impacts
US longstanding ties with the UK.
Bolton may have wanted to back Brit-
ain into a corner, but there is still every
possibility to achieve a win-win outcome
when it comes to both US-UK relations
and China-UK relations.The author is director of Eurasia Future,
an independent news platform. opinion@
globaltimes.com.cnPage Editor:
[email protected]US immigration policy just a political tool
Britain needs Huawei 5G to maintain an international competitive edge
By Sun Chenghao
U
S President Donald
Trump’s administra-
tion strengthened its
immigration policy on August
12 by announcing a regula-
tion that could dramatically
decrease the number of legal
immigrants allowed into the
country. The current federal
law requires people who seek
green cards and legal status to
prove they will not become a
“public charge” or a burden,
and the new rule, set to take
effect on October 15, redefines
what it means to be a “public
charge.”
“Legal immigrants who
use one or more of these
public benefits for more than
12 months in any 36-month
period would be defined as a
public charge, which would
make it more difficult for
them to secure citizen-
ship,” reported CNBC on
Friday.
This is not the first
time Trump is trying to
stanch the flow of im-
migrants. Major shifts
have taken place in US
immigration policies since
Trump took power. From ban-
ning nationals of eight coun-
tries from entering the US,
canceling the Deferred Action
for Childhood Arrivals to sepa-
rating migrant children from
their parents at the border,
the Trump administration has
implemented bold measures to
deal with immigrants.
In Trump’s view, pushing
forward hardened immigra-
tion policies is a political
battle which he must win. The
so-called White Anglo-Saxon
Protestant (WASP) in the
country consists in most parts
of Trump’s core supporters.
The main goal of this group is
to defend a “WASP America.”
They voted for Trump in 2016
out of a fear that immigration
represents a threat to their
own American Dream. Trump
captured the sentiments dur-
ing the campaign and madechanging immigration policy
one of his major promises.
It is an irresistible temp-
tation for Trump to play to
his base with his escalating
rhetoric and policies on immi-
gration. A stable job approval
rating shows that Trump’s sup-
port remains unchanged.
Changing US immigra-
tion policy is a reflection of
Trump’s appraisal of national
security challenges and threats.
In the National Security
Strategy released by the White
House at the end of 2017, the
US government listed “protect
the homeland, the American
people, and the American
way of life” as one of
the vital na-
tional interests.Trump and his supporters be-
lieve that those undocumented
immigrants pose a threat to
US national security.
The fundamental root and
motivation of Trump and his
supporters to alter policies are
their fear and anxieties about
the changing demographic
structure in the US. Accord-
ing to a Brookings report on
March 14, 2018, non-Hispanic
whites constitute the major-
ity of the US population, with
about 62.6 percent of the
population as of 2013, but the
non-Hispanic white popula-
tion will likely fall below 50
percent by 2045. “The
nation will become
‘minority white’ in
2045,” as the report
put it. Trump’s plan
to reverse the trend
is simple – to make
America white again.
Curbing immigra-
tion might slow
down demographic
change, which
is, however,
impossible to
be stopped.
The number of
non-Hispanic
babies born
in the US is
higher than
the number of
white babies. In
addition, the checks
and balances embedded
in US political system
will restrain the execu-tive branch if it steps too far.
Immediately after the Trump
administration’s new “public
charge” rule, 13 US states filed
a lawsuit against the Depart-
ment of Homeland Security
on August 14, arguing the rule
violates the Immigration and
Nationality Act.
Trump’s immigration
policies will not make the US
safe again. Instead, they would
possibly create more chaos and
divisions in the country. As
US has entered the campaign
season, both Republicans and
Democrats will use immigra-
tion issues as a tool to bash
each other.
The political infighting
between the two parties will
not easily cease. Mixed with
racial issues, the immigration
crisis has become the focus
of the partisan battles. After
the midterm elections, the
House is controlled by much
more diverse Democrats who
hold a totally different stance
on immigration policies from
Trump. Under the pressure of
the upcoming presidential elec-
tions, the room is squeezed for
both parties to concede and the
protracted war on immigration
policies will be the new normal
in US domestic politics.The author is an assistant
research fellow with the Institute
of American Studies of the China
Institutes of Contemporary
International Relations. opinion@
Illustration: Liu Rui/GT globaltimes.com.cn