The International Impact of the Election

The upcoming November presidential election has big implications for not only domestic policy but international policy as well. In the coming months, voters and the Electoral College will decide which direction policy of the United States goes on issues of healthcare and economic regulation. There are also issues such as: WTO trade disputes with China and some Latin American countries like Puerto Rico, conflict in Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran, and the introduction of Russia to the WTO.

Over the past few years, both the U.S. and China have been using the WTO dispute settlement mechanism to assert that the other is subsidizing industries, particularly exports that help them gain in advantage in the international market. The WTO reacts rather quickly to disputes, so in potentially no longer than a year and a half, there may be sanctions either way and a new approach to certain industries.

Further, there is the issue as to how much presence and action the United States should have in the future. The U.S. has been in Afghanistan and Iraq for a long time now, though, much less in recent times due to the capture and death of Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden. The issue continues to be whether we should still be there fighting terrorists (or however you want to label the action there) and trying to help create a sustainable, capable and democratic government, or whether we should be letting the Iraqi people attempt to make more decisions for themselves. In Iran, President Obama has claimed to remain present in the Middle East and not allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons, but the extent of this is yet to be seen, as Republicans (having a more apparent attachment to our ally, Israel) want more aggression. Either way, the continuation of monitoring Iran is a key for now until the country meets international institutions levels of transparency.

Russia recently became a member of the WTO. Though the country does not currently meet all requirements and is being carefully monitored by member countries, it will begin processes to meet WTO standards of openness and agreements of trade. This is big news for all countries in the international market including China, Japan, the E.U. and the U.S. Russia is a large exporter of oil and has recently begun to develop an oil pipeline to China from its new port-trading city Vladivostok (see photo link below as to why Russia is lucrative). In addition, Russia brings a lot of potential farming land– ecologists and other scholars of weather predict that some of Russia’s permafrost land will begin to thaw and become usable farm land in the next 20-30 years.

As you’re deciding who to vote for this election year, don’t forget about all of the issues at hand.

Photo from: http://www.xfuels.com/global-issues/rising-oil-demand.php

Original Source: Source: Energy Information Administration (EIA) ¹ and International Energy Agency (IEA) ²