Migrants, climate, trans people Trump wants to create facts immediately with these measures
Immediately after being sworn in as US President, Donald Trump announced a whole series of drastic measures. An overview of the most important plans.
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- From mass deportations to the expansion of oil production: Donald Trump has made his first announcements as the new US president.
- Trump also wants to significantly restrict the rights of trans people.
- As in his first term in office, Trump is canceling the Paris Climate Agreement.
The consequences for migrants and trans people are already becoming apparent in the first few hours of Trump's second term. Also for the climate. What does the new US president want to decide quickly?
"The golden age of America begins right now", were Donald Trump's first words as the 47th President of the USA. Trump first explained what he meant by this in a long list of accusations against the Biden administration, before repeating many election promises and announcing that he would implement them immediately.
US President Donald Trump wants to start his second term in office with momentous decisions on climate protection, migrants and trans people. Immediately after being sworn in, he wants to create facts with executive orders, among other things.
Such orders do not require the approval of Congress, but are also easier to challenge in court. An overview of Trump's first planned decisions.
State of emergency and army at the border with Mexico
With ten planned measures to tighten migration policy, Trump wants to implement one of his key election promises. Among other things, he announced that he would declare a national state of emergency on the border with Mexico. He had already done this during his first term of office in order to finance the construction of a border wall, which was often promised during the election campaign at the time.
Trump is also planning to involve the military more in securing the country's borders and to continue building the wall. The US president's measures also include abolishing automatic citizenship for children born in the USA to migrants without valid residence status. Experts had previously expressed skepticism as to whether such a step would be constitutional.
Immediately after Trump took office, the government canceled previously agreed appointments for migrants with the border protection agency CBP. The agency announced that the functions of the CBP One app for making future appointments would also be discontinued with immediate effect.
Since 2020, migrants wishing to enter the USA have been able to use the app to make appointments at eight border crossings and submit information in advance.
Trans people no longer officially exist
Trans people must expect their previous rights to be restricted. From now on, US policy will be based on the assumption that there are only two genders, i.e. male and female, explained a future government official. Official documents such as passports and visas should therefore again indicate the "correct biological gender" in future.
From now on it's "Gulf of America"
Shortly after his inauguration, Trump wants the Gulf of Mexico to be renamed. The 47th US President also wants to order the renaming of North America's highest mountain, Denali. In future, the Gulf of Mexico will be called the "Gulf of America" and Mount Denali will once again be called Mount McKinley, as Trump explained after his swearing-in at the Capitol.
USA brings back the Panama Canal
In his inauguration speech, Donald Trump also reaffirmed that he wants to restore his country's control over the Panama Canal. The USA would "take back" the canal, said the newly sworn-in US President at the Capitol in Washington.
There have already been initial reactions from Panama: Panama's President José Raúl Mulino has firmly rejected the claims of the new US President Donald Trump to the Panama Canal. "The canal is and will remain Panamanian," said Mulino. As has been the case since 1999, the administration of the waterway, which is important for global trade, will remain under the control of the Central American country. There is no nation in the world that interferes in the administration.
In his speech at his swearing-in ceremony, Trump announced that the USA would take back the canal. "China runs the Panama Canal. And we didn't give it to China, we gave it to Panama," said the Republican. US ships would also have to pay greatly inflated fees.
The handover of the canal to Panama was not a concession, but the result of the struggle of the Panamanian people, said Mulino. Panama had managed and developed the waterway responsibly. His country would assert its rights on the basis of international law.
The 82-kilometer-long canal connects the Atlantic with the Pacific in Central America. It was built at the beginning of the 20th century by the US Army Corps of Engineers. On December 31, 1999, the USA handed over administration of the canal to Panama. The transaction was negotiated by the recently deceased Democratic US President Jimmy Carter.
Out of the Paris Climate Agreement again
The new US President wants to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement again. According to a statement from the White House, pulling out is one of his priorities. Trump denies man-made global warming and considers the agreement to be a "rip-off".
Withdrawing from the agreement means that the USA will no longer submit plans on how it intends to reduce emissions of climate-damaging gases. The USA is also shirking its responsibility financially: the Paris Climate Agreement obliges industrialized countries such as the USA to provide financial support to vulnerable and poorer countries - even if states cannot be held officially accountable for non-payment. The pressure on the USA to pay for climate protection, adaptation and damage will cease with the withdrawal.
From now on, the new president has stated that he will work to strengthen oil and gas production in the USA: "We're going to drill, baby", he announced in his inaugural speech.
Following US President Donald Trump's announcement to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement, UN climate chief Simon Stiell has called on all countries to work together on climate protection. "The door to the Paris Agreement remains open," said the head of the UN Climate Change Secretariat on Monday. "We welcome constructive engagement from all countries."
Collecting tariffs and levies from abroad
In his inaugural speech, Trump announced that he would "tax" foreign countries and impose tariffs. However, he did not give any details. Once again, Trump spoke of a "foreign tax office" to collect customs duties and taxes from abroad. During the election campaign, Trump had been much more specific. He had announced a 25% tariff on goods from Mexico and Canada and up to 60% on goods from China. First, however, there will be investigations into the US trade deficit and possible unfair trade practices by other countries.
EU Commissioner for Economic Affairs Valdis Dombrovskis has threatened the new US President Donald Trump with countermeasures if he imposes high tariffs on the European Union. "If it is necessary to defend Europe's economic interests, we are ready to do so", Dombrovskis said on Monday after a meeting of finance ministers from the eurozone countries in Brussels.
The EU Commissioner referred to the European approach during Trump's first term of office until 2021, when he introduced tariffs on steel and aluminum from the EU. At the time, the EU responded with surcharges on US products such as Harley-Davidson motorcycles and bourbon whiskey. This was "appropriate", emphasized Dombrovskis.
Massive expansion of oil and gas production
In terms of energy policy, Trump announced the declaration of a "national energy emergency" and a massive expansion of oil and gas production. The USA would "drill, baby, drill", he repeated an announcement from the election campaign. He wants to restrict wind farms.
