Former US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo has sharply criticised President Donald Trumpโs foreign and trade policy, warning that his โAmerica Firstโ approach has turned into an โAmerica Aloneโ strategy.
Former US Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, Raimondo accused the Trump administration of pursuing an isolationist foreign policy that undermines US global influence.ย โWeโre making a big mistake with India. The Trump administration has pissed off all our allies. America First is one thing America Alone is a disastrous policy,โ she said while speaking in a wide-ranging discussion at the Harvard Kennedy Schoolโs Institute of Politics.ย
Raimondo warned that distancing the US from its closest allies was weakening its global leadership. โAn America thatโs not a good friend or ally to Europe or Japan is a weak America,โ she noted.
Rising tensions between Washington and New Delhiย
Her remarks come amid worsening trade relations between the United States and India. The Trump administration recently doubled tariffs on Indian exports to 50% and imposed additional duties tied to Indiaโs continued purchase of Russian crude oil, despite repeated US objections. Raimondo argued that such actions were short-sighted and risked eroding strategic partnerships essential to counter Chinaโs growing global footprint.
Urging a return to multilateral diplomacy, Raimondo said Washington needs to rebuild trust with allies and strengthen commercial and strategic cooperation.
โWe canโt be effective globally without strong relationships with Europe or much of Southeast Asia,โ she said. โWe need stronger commercial ties with Europe, and weโre making a big mistake with India.โ She emphasised that global cooperation, not economic nationalism, is vital to Americaโs long-term competitiveness.
Raimondo accused Washington of โhubrisโ in assuming the world would wait for it to mend strained relationships. โWhat weโre doing right now is giving the Heisman to the rest of the world,โ she said. โIf we think theyโre going to sit around and wait for us, I worry they wonโt. China is right there every dayย in Europe, Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia.โ
The former Commerce Secretary also challenged the bipartisan push under both Trump and Biden to bring all manufacturing back to US soil. โI donโt agree that we should make everything in America,โ Raimondo said. โWe donโt have enough labour, itโs not where our advantage lies, and itโs not critical to national security.โ
She urged a more pragmatic trade policy that balances domestic production with global supply chain resilience.