WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's foreign aid cuts, tariffs on allies and restrictions on international students have “deeply” undermined America's ability to compete with China, Senate Democrats say.
In a report released Monday, Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee called for congressional action toward restoring the country's global reputation and influence to ensure the U.S. will not be unseated by China as the world's leading power.
“America’s retreat from the world will have real and lasting consequences for the American people,” the report says. "And a retreat from the system that we helped build following the Second World War — based on democracy, economic interdependence and American values — means China is increasingly able to set the global agenda at the expense of U.S. interests.”
The report comes about six months after Trump returned to the White House and began taking drastic measures that his administration says will improve government efficiency and protect U.S. interests, triggering condemnation from Democrats that the moves could amount to ceding global influence to China.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said the U.S. is strong again under Trump and that his foreign policy is effective “because of his willingness to look anyone in the eye to get better deals for the American people."
“His strategy is paying off, as evidenced by the recent trade deal that created a path towards open market access for Americans and China’s actions to control the spread of deadly fentanyl,” she said.
In the report, the Democrats criticized the Trump administration's gutting of the U.S. Agency for International Development, which was a key way of distributing foreign assistance, and the U.S. Agency for Global Media — both tools to extend U.S. soft power and counter Beijing's influence.
While Trump's cuts to USAGM, whose outlets deliver uncensored information to parts of the world under authoritarian rule and often without a free press of their own, has resulted in the loss of 54 frequencies by Radio Free Asia and millions of users. Chinese state-run media outlets have added 80 new radio frequencies and multiple languages to their programming, the report said.
The administration's cuts to foreign aid programs also has allowed China to surpass the U.S. as the largest bilateral assistance partner for more than 40 countries, according to the report.
“China is building influence, expanding relationships and reshaping the global order to its advantage,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
In a call with reporters, Shaheen said some Republicans, while unwilling to join the Democrats in the report, share the same concerns over the threat posed by Beijing.
The office of committee Chairman Jim Risch, R-Idaho, declined to comment.
The report criticized Trump's tariffs on allies and partners including the European Union, Mexico, Canada and Japan.
“Blanket tariffs are not just wreaking economic havoc at home, they are also eroding longstanding U.S. alliances, including making it even more difficult to increase defense spending to 5%" of gross domestic product, the report said. That's the new goal agreed to by NATO allies.
The administration's proposals to cut funding for scientific research and crack down on top U.S. universities and foreign students could lead to a brain drain, the report warned, noting China is jumping at the opportunity to lure talent.
