Obama tour overshadowed by Trump
LIMA, Peru — Trying to tie up loose ends of his foreign policy agenda, President Barack Obama on Saturday instead found world leaders more focused on someone else: Presidentelect Donald Trump.
Global hand-wringing over America’s next president has taken much of the wind out of Obama’s final overseas trip. Adopting an altruistic tone, Obama has offered frequent reassurances that the U.S. won’t renege on its commitments. Yet he’s been at a loss to quell concerns fully, given new signals from Trump that he intends to govern much the way he campaigned.
Obama’s visit to Peru, the last stop on his trip, has brought those concerns to the forefront: Much of Latin America is on edge about a potentially dramatic shift in U.S. immigration policy under Trump. And Asian leaders gathered in Lima for an Asia-Pacific economic summit are trying to game out what Trump’s presidency will mean for trade with the world’s largest economy.
Before returning to Washington, Obama will sit down Sunday with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. He also will participate in a pull-aside with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada.
By this point, Obama has come to terms with the fact that his remaining weeks in office will be overshadowed by Trump.
Trump’s protectionist stance on trade was clearly on the minds of leaders at the economic conference.
Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto took a cautious approach to Trump’s pledge to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement.
“In the face of Trump’s positioning, we’re now in a stage of favoring dialogue as a way to build a new agenda in our bilateral relationship,” Peña Nieto said.