Trump is not the only power centre
fornia governor Jerry Brown into the Great Hall of the People with the sort of pomp traditionally reserved for visiting heads of state. The two leaders then discussed climate policy. “California’s leading, China’s leading,” Brown declared during a news conference.
California has established a ‘cap and trade market’ that allows companies to buy and sell allowances on greenhouse gas emissions, a policy that finds little support at the federal level. Brown, who has promised to set ambitious emissions targets in California, then signed agreements on clean energy technological development with local Chinese officials.
Canada, far more dependent on the US economy than China, is adopting a similar approach to courting local US officials. Officials in Justin Trudeau’s government have begun building on already close ties between Canadian provinces and US states.
The day after Trump explained his decision to withdraw from the Paris accord with a reminder that he “was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris”, Canada’s transport minister held a meeting on climate change policy with the mayor of Pittsburgh. Canada’s federal government is also building relationships with officials in Florida, Texas, Michigan, New York and other states. “The United States is bigger than the [Trump] administration,” said Canada’s environment minister recently. She’s right.
There’s nothing new, of course, about other governments, particularly US allies, forging political and commercial relations with US states and cities. But the Trump administration’s ‘America First’, often rejectionist, approach to the rest of the world has given these ties new urgency. The US president has considerable power, particularly on foreign policy. But more governments are discovering the potential benefits of using the decentralised structure of the US to get what they want. And they’ll find a growing number of US governors and mayors waiting to embrace them.