Trump’s first week in office has been an interesting, if shocking, one. While many other presidents have been blamed for not using their first 100 days in office to put their stamp on the direction of their presidency, Trump is most certainly doing this.
And we no longer need to wonder whether his talk is rhetoric or reality.
The latter most certainly being the case, this does not mean that all of his orders will now suddenly be turned into law; however it most certainly shows the direction he plans to take for the country.
Many of my American colleagues have mentioned the strong institutions that are in place which would make it difficult for Trump to get some of his radical changes through. These institutions include the Senate, the House, the courts, the individual states, press, the bureaucracy – and, of course, the American people.
Let’s hope they are right!
And so it was good to see that the ICT industry reacted strongly to the executive order on immigration.
While many companies had tried to get their affected employees to return to the US quickly, the order came well before most were able to do so. The companies involved – led by Google, Microsoft and Facebook – have voiced strong concerns over restrictions that could interfere with the way they conduct their businesses.
I have been asked by the press what this would mean for Australia – for instance, will companies avoid America and start using other countries to work from in order to maintain their international operations?
If Trump persists with such policies, and perhaps even more importantly if he is able to create a trade war, companies, especially in the ICT industry, will most certainly look around for alternatives, safe havens. And, yes, Australia will profit from this.
However the overall results will be bad for the Australian Prime Minister’s much-used mantra of ‘growth and jobs’. If Trump succeeds with his policies it will be bad for all of us.
Paul Budde