AmCham Cyprus hosts event on 'The future of American politics, the impact of the US election and its outcome globally'

The American Chamber of Commerce in Cyprus (AmCham Cyprus), with the support of the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) recenrkt organised an event with the theme 'The future of American Politics, the impact of the US Election and its outcome globally’, featuring keynote speaker Richard Lui, a breaking news anchor for NBC and MSNBC.

The event offered diverse perspectives on the key issues, candidates, and potential outcomes that will shape the future of the United States and will naturally affect its foreign policy in a period of growing tensions and instability worldwide.

During the fireside chat, which was accompanied with an open engagement with the guests, what was widely acknowledged was that the 2024 race has been one of the most dramatic and unpredictable in recent decades, marked by two assassination attempts on Donald Trump, his recent felony conviction and Biden’s withdrawal in favour of his Vice President.

Lui conveyed that the stakes of this election will have far-reaching implications for both the domestic and international democracy landscapes, with the next president also having a critical role in addressing the world’s most pressing challenges. Nonetheless, he continued, with the polls suggesting that the gap between Harris and Trump has narrowed even further in the swing states where the election will be decided, it was hard to make an accurate prediction as regards the result of the elections.

He did not exclude that there might be a delayed result, legal challenges in several states as regards the voting results or even deeper polarisation within the US.

There was also a debate on how the transatlantic relations will evolve based on whom is to be elected, with Lui claiming that Kamala Harris will most probably follow the policies of his predecessor on issues such as NATO, the invasion of Russia against Ukraine and climate change, whilst Trump, based on his public statements and previous policies as President of the US, will probably adopt a different stance that might lead to a weakening of transatlantic relations, due to less engagement with NATO and to the adoption of a different position on the issue of Ukraine and as regards the Paris agreement on climate change.

The main concerns amongst the participants in relation to the transatlantic partnership focused as to whether the EU will be facing tariffs on its exports to the US as well as pressure from the new US administration to also be tough on China, with a real risk of increased competition between the EU and the US, with each side likely to respond to tariffs imposed by the other with protectionist policies, whilst the EU would also most possibly try to diversify and secure trade agreements with other partners such as Mercosur and India.

Lastly, there was a lengthy discussion on the failure of the US to broker a peace agreement between Israel, Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, dual deterrence against Iran and Israel, or China and Taiwan, with questions being raised as to whether any changes are to be expected following the elections. Lui argued that Harris will also follow on these issues the policies of her predecessor, whilst he did not rule out the possibility, as per past practices, of Trump following an isolationist policy, including on East Asia, with the consequent effects this will bring about.

Cyprus Business News was the event's communication's sponsor.