No images? Click here 29 May 2024A guide to the next US administrationThis morning at Australian Parliament House, the United States Studies Centre launched Red Book | Blue Book: A guide to the next US administration. The report draws on analysis from over a dozen experts to forecast the future of US foreign and domestic policy under a second Joe Biden or Donald Trump term — and what Australia and other regional allies should do about it. If re-elected, Biden can be expected to consolidate his legacy by focusing on the rollout and implementation of legislation passed during his first term. This would include advancing the ambitious climate investments and industrial policy agenda laid out under the historic 2022 Inflation Reduction Act and CHIPS and Science Act, finalising the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework agreement, making progress on the AUKUS pact and deepening ties with US allies and partners in the region. A second Trump term is more difficult to predict, but would have a notable domestic focus, with plans for sweeping changes to the federal bureaucracy and to roll back Biden’s clean energy initiatives, as well as applying harsher tariffs on imports from China and US partners alike. Europe would face particular challenges, with further US support for Ukraine unlikely to continue. Yet for all their differences, key US priorities will remain the same regardless of whether Biden or Trump wins in November. Under either administration, China will continue to be seen as the US' greatest strategic threat, industrial policy will continue to expand, and the role of US allies will only grow in importance. A divided Congress is likely to constrain the domestic agenda of the next president, regardless of their party. For a deep dive into all these issues, read the newly released Red Book | Blue Book report here. NEWS WRAPKenyan president comes to town
![]() “There’s never been a time in history when we’ve asked our military to do so many different things in so many different places around the world all at the same time.” President Joe Biden at West Point Military Academy | 25 May 2024 EVENT Tickets selling out: Economic security in a turbulent worldThis first-of-its-kind conference in Australia will bring together experts and senior officials working on an ever-expanding economic security agenda that encompasses industrial policy in strategic industries, supply chain resilience measures, energy security, critical technologies policy, economic sanctions, export controls, investment screening and anti-economic coercion measures. Economic security in a turbulent world will highlight the policy choices and trade-offs facing governments and businesses as they seek to manage risk and build resilience in the face of increasing geopolitical instability and economic volatility. It promises to be one of Australia’s premier business-relevant conferences of 2024. WHEN COST IN CASE YOU MISSED IT Did you USSC?
BY THE NUMBERS Deep dive: The Pacific Deterrence InitiativeBy Research Fellow Tom Corben and Research Associate Alice Nason “A key metric for US investment in US Indo-Pacific Strategy to track under the next administration will be the Pacific Deterrence Initiative (PDI)... The PDI was designed to meet two key objectives: to funnel money into Indo-Pacific initiatives in areas like capacity-building, military construction, logistics enablers, and integrated air and missile defences for key bases; and to “enhance budgetary transparency and [congressional] oversight” for US initiatives in the Indo-Pacific. Encouragingly, funding for the PDI has increased dramatically since 2021. The combined US$34.7 billion appropriated for the PDI over four budget cycles comes close to equalling the US$38.4 billion in funding the European Deterrence Initiative (EDI) has received over the past decade. That trend is likely to continue under the next Congress, budgetary pressures notwithstanding." This is an excerpt from a new USSC report: Red Book | Blue Book: A guide to the next US administration Manage your email preferences | Forward this email to a friend United States Studies Centre |