#CouncilARG 2019 Video: A Conversation on U.S. Politics and Economic Outlook

Speakers

• Nelson W. Cunningham, President & Co-Founder of McLarty Associates and Former Special Advisor to President Clinton on Western Hemisphere Affairs 

• Susan Segal, President & CEO, Americas Society/Council of the Americas

At AS/COA's Latin American Cities Conference in Buenos Aires, AS/COA's Susan Segal and McLarty Associates' Nelson Cunningham talked about the United States' current economic situation and how the U.S.-China trade war can affect countries such as Argentina. On the day President Donald Trump tweeted about the return of steel tariffs against Argentina and Brazil, Cunningham gave a sense to the #CouncilARG audience about how to interpret the U.S. president: "We have to understand everything Trump does in the context of elections." The former advisor on Western Hemisphere affairs to President Bill Clinton explained Trump now needs to show American farmers he is protecting them from China trade policies. But Cunningham also explained any policy targeting Beijing has to be done with a strategy, and what that is on the part of the Trump administration is not currently clear. "There is not a lot of confidence on the direction of the country," he said.

When talking about Latin America, Cunningham said that Venezuela does not make for a very healthy or intelligent debate in Washington. Cunningham and Segal also talked about the democratic presidential candidates and the U.S. impeachment process.