PEJOURNAL – With Biden elected president of the United States, some Middle Eastern countries have been locked up. Israel-U.S. relations, which were influenced by the warm relations between Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, will no longer continue under Biden, and Saudi Arabia is likely to face increased congressional oversight of the country’s human rights issues.
Leaders of Middle Eastern countries also know very well that Biden’s vision does not necessarily have in common with their approaches.
But regardless of the political consequences, the Middle East must wait for the economic gains from Biden’s victory,” Amjad Ahmed wrote in a memo published on the Atlantic Council’s website. Biden’s positions on three key issues could provide a more suitable environment for the Middle East economy, especially in the long run.
More coordination and cooperation to fight COVID-19
Controlling the COVID-19 outbreak and normalizing the economic situation have a direct relationship with each other. With the highest per capita mortality rate in the world, the United States has not responded appropriately to the worst public health crisis of the last century. The unemployment rate has also grown sharply. During the Trump era, the U.S. has refused to coordinate and cooperate internationally to tackle the epidemic.
Biden’s top priority is to control the U.S. end of the disease. Biden has formed a specialty group to help fight COVID-19 and discuss the virus and the importance of implementing public health guidelines with the public. He is likely to present a detailed plan to fight the coronavirus in the next few weeks, which will take effect immediately after he comes into office.
In addition to domestic action, Biden will seek to rebuild important international alliances. Biden is likely to contact international partners and work with them to share information, data and progress made in tackling the COVID-19 outbreak and its potential treatments.
These measures can provide confidence for global economies and pave the way for U.S. stability and economic growth. This process will benefit global markets, including those in the Middle East. Because the region relies heavily on energy, global trade, commerce and tourism, which have been affected by the decline in global demand.
Regulating the energy market and protecting the environment
Undoubtedly, Biden’s energy policy will be different from Trump’s. In his second presidential debate, Biden announced that he would move toward “renewable energy” over time from the “oil industry.” He said he would join the Paris climate agreement on the first day of his presidency.
Biden will increase environmental protection laws that have resulted in lower oil and gas production within the U.S. as a result of which global energy equations will be transformed.
Although the consequences of Biden’s long-term energy policies do not benefit Middle Eastern energy exporters, his actions will benefit them in the short and medium term. So that the economies of the Persian Gulf countries will experience good growth. Improving the global economy and stabilizing oil prices will lead to an improvement in the situation of economies affected by the COVID-19 outbreak in the Middle East.
Various tactics towards China and its impact on the Middle East economy
China’s trade war has disrupted supply chains, increased friction, increased global trade costs and caused uncertainty in companies and investors. Perhaps Trump took the right approach toward China, but the way the United States and its strategic interests work is questionable. The use of tariffs and trade barriers as a tool for use in commercial competitions has had limited success.
Biden is likely to continue to take tough stances on China, but will abandon some of the methods Trump used. Although Biden will take a more assertive approach to the Obama administration, it remains unclear how he will force China to make fundamental changes to trade deficits, intellectual property rights and technology transfers.
Despite significant economic challenges at home, Biden will halt the trade war with China to restore growth in the global economy and the U.S. economy. Middle Eastern countries are eager to maintain and grow their economic ties with the United States and China at the same time and do not want to be forced to choose one of the parties. Reducing trade tensions will allow Middle Eastern countries to expand ties with the United States and China.
Although the Biden administration will not cure economic problems in the Middle East, it will have positive impacts on the region’s economy. The Middle East should benefit from the growth of the global economy resulting from the changes made by Biden and the possible effects of making the COVID-19 vaccine.