Here Are Trump’s Many Foreign Policy Achievements in His First Term
As Americans head to the polls during a time when the world seems on the brink of a potential global conflict, it’s worth recalling Trump’s significant foreign policy achievements. His leadership, focused on restoring order, fostering peace, and keeping autocrats in check, is what both the U.S. and the world need now. One of Trump’s primary accomplishments was keeping the U.S. out of new wars. During his term, leaders like Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin, Ayatollah Khamenei, and Xi Jinping respected him, even if begrudgingly. Today, however, they express a preference for Kamala Harris, viewing her as a continuation of what they see as the Biden administration’s weak liberal approach.
In his first term, President Trump’s foreign policy represented a distinct shift from previous administrations. Prioritizing America’s interests, Trump adopted a stance that emphasized economic leverage, military strength, and diplomacy tailored to pressure adversaries. His achievements, ranging from economic agreements to peace efforts, reflect his administration’s emphasis on “America First” principles. Below, we’ll examine his significant accomplishments across various regions and policy areas.
Middle East Peace and the Abraham Accords
One of Trump’s hallmark achievements in the Middle East was brokering the Abraham Accords, which normalized diplomatic relations between Israel and several Arab nations, including the UAE and Bahrain. This historic agreement fostered economic and security cooperation in a region previously marked by isolation and tension. By uniting these countries against shared threats, particularly Iran, Trump reshaped Middle Eastern alliances and reinforced his administration’s efforts to curb Iran’s influence through sanctions. Additionally, in 2020, Trump introduced a Middle East peace plan that proposed expanded Israeli sovereignty over parts of the occupied Palestinian territories, aiming to redefine peace terms in the region.
In a decisive pivot from the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal, President Trump announced he would not recertify Iran’s compliance, citing Iran’s ongoing violations of the agreement’s spirit. By 2018, Trump formally withdrew from the deal, imposing stringent sanctions aimed at cutting off Iran’s main revenue stream—its oil exports. His administration rigorously enforced these sanctions, reducing Iran’s oil output to near zero. Further intensifying pressure, Trump ordered the strike that killed Qasem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, sending a strong warning to Tehran about U.S. resolve. He later designated Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi movement as a foreign terrorist organization, a move briefly reversed by Biden before being reinstated in 2024 after renewed Houthi attacks on commercial vessels.
Trump’s approach demonstrated a clear strategy: isolating Iran economically and politically, while maintaining a strong stance on deterrence. His policies underscored a commitment to confront Iran’s destabilizing actions, reinforcing the U.S.’s position without engaging in prolonged conflicts.
In contrast to Biden, who labeled Saudi Arabia a pariah state and saw U.S. gas prices soar, Trump maintained a close partnership with the kingdom, approving billions in arms sales and supporting Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Trump vetoed bipartisan legislation that would have ended U.S. support for Saudi Arabia’s military efforts in Yemen, leveraging this relationship to influence global oil supplies, particularly during the pandemic when he pressured Riyadh to limit production. Despite criticism over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Trump continued to view Saudi Arabia as a critical ally, emphasizing its role as a key oil supplier, arms buyer, and regional partner. Under this partnership, the Etidal Center was established to combat terrorism in the Middle East, further solidifying U.S.-Saudi collaboration.
Confronting China’s Rise
Trump was tough on China, targeting trade imbalances, intellectual property theft, and Beijing’s regional ambitions. He imposed tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of Chinese goods, peaking at 25% on $200 billion in imports, with additional tariffs threatened but temporarily paused. In 2020, Trump secured a “Phase One” trade deal, compelling China to purchase more American goods and tightening protections for U.S. intellectual property. His administration also took firm action against Chinese telecommunications companies, branded China a currency manipulator, and even suggested ending all private U.S. investment in China. Trump’s aggressive stance aimed to reduce U.S. reliance on Chinese goods, proposing a four-year plan to phase out essential imports from China and emphasizing domestic production of critical items like electronics, steel, and pharmaceuticals.
Trump’s policies extended beyond trade, addressing national security and human rights concerns. He enacted export controls on semiconductor technologies to curb China’s access to advanced tech, sanctioned Chinese officials over the treatment of Uyghur Muslims, and met with Uyghur representatives in a show of support. Additionally, Trump bolstered U.S. naval presence in the Taiwan Strait, increased arms sales to Taiwan, and rejected nearly all of China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea. He also worked with China to label fentanyl as a controlled substance, addressing its flow into the U.S. This multi-front approach demonstrated Trump’s commitment to countering China’s influence economically, technologically, and militarily, aiming to reinforce U.S. strength and independence in critical sectors.
In his second term, Trump has pledged to impose 100% tariffs on Chinese goods, signaling an even tougher stance on China. This will accelerate the shift of U.S. supply chains away from China, increasing America’s economic independence and reducing reliance on Chinese imports.
NATO and Defense Spending Reforms
Trump argued that the U.S. was overpaying for NATO while European members weren’t meeting their financial commitments. Speaking in Brussels, he urged NATO heads to “contribute their fair share” Despite claims that Trump aimed to weaken NATO, he consistently affirmed support for the alliance, provided allies met their financial commitments. As president, Trump secured hundreds of billions in increased defense spending, with allies contributing $130 billion more by the end of his term, a figure projected to reach $400 billion by 2024. His efforts also led to a doubling in the number of NATO members meeting the 2% GDP defense spending target, ultimately strengthening NATO to its most robust point since the Cold War, despite some diplomatic friction.
Engagement with North Korea
President Trump’s unprecedented diplomacy with North Korea marked a shift in U.S.-North Korea relations, as he became the first sitting U.S. president to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore. Their joint declaration aimed to transform confrontation into cooperation, with ambitious commitments toward denuclearization, though without firm enforcement mechanisms. Trump’s efforts temporarily halted North Korea’s nuclear testing and opened a channel for dialogue in a historically tense region. He reinforced these diplomatic efforts with a “maximum pressure” campaign, maintaining strict sanctions on North Korea, negotiating for American hostages’ release, and securing the return of American soldiers’ remains.
Counterterrorism and the Defeat of ISIS
Under Trump’s leadership, the U.S. intensified military efforts against ISIS, ultimately dismantling the terror group’s territorial hold in Syria and Iraq. The 2019 raid that eliminated ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi underscored the administration’s commitment to eradicating international terrorist networks. Unlike the Obama-Biden administration, whose 2011 Iraq withdrawal contributed to ISIS’s rise, Trump’s approach led to the caliphate’s collapse. This counterterrorism strategy was paired with a broader policy to reduce U.S. involvement in prolonged overseas conflicts, aiming to maintain security without extensive military commitments abroad.
Though Trump’s methods were unconventional, they reshaped U.S. foreign policy in ways that reduced the threat of war and secured more favorable deals and agreements, ultimately serving American interests more effectively.
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