Trump’s 2026 State of the Union: Foreign Policy Issue Guide

On February 20, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Trump’s sweeping tariffs on nearly all U.S. trading partners. The tariffs aimed to correct what Trump claimed was decades of imbalances harmful to the U.S. economy. CFR President Michael Froman analyzes the Court’s decision. This CFR-Morning Consult poll examines Americans’ attitudes toward trade and Trump’s tariff policies, with many viewing trade as a two-way street, writes CFR Senior Fellow Inu Manak.

CFR Senior Fellows Edward Alden, Joshua Kurlantzick, Matthias Matthijs, and Sheila A. Smith argue that the knock-on effects of Trump’s trade policies have tested Washington’s relationship with its closest allies, including Australia, Canada, Europe, Japan, and New Zealand. As Trump has threatened not to renew the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, CFR Senior Fellow Rebecca Patterson discusses how public and private sectors remain committed to trilateral economic engagement.

CFR’s Manak tracks the administration’s latest trade deals as of February 11, 2026. This Backgrounder explains how tariffs work and who pays for them.

To read the latest analysis on international economic policy, visit CFR’s Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies site.

Trump’s trade war with China, which began during his first administration, has created ripple effects throughout the global economy. This Backgrounder explains the history of the contentious U.S.-China trade relationship. As the Chinese economy builds resilience against U.S. tariffs, CFR Senior Fellow Zongyuan Zoe Liu argues that China has presented itself as a more stable, pro-free trade alternative to the United States. 

At this CFR event, Senators Christopher Coons (DE-D) and Pete Ricketts (NE-R)—members of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations—discuss the bipartisan role of Congress in shaping the United States’ China policy.

In December 2025, Trump allowed leading tech company Nvidia to sell its powerful H200 chip—a critical piece of technology in the artificial intelligence (AI) race—to China. Three CFR experts unpack what implications this decision could have for the future of AI, U.S. national security policy, and relations with China. Meanwhile, Trump’s trade policy toward Taiwan has heightened fears about the durability of its so-called silicon shield, writes CFR Fellow David Sacks. 

For more on the U.S. competition with China, visit CFR’s China Strategy Initiative site.

Seven CFR experts discuss the global implications of Trump’s 2025 National Security Strategy (NSS), which promotes an “America First” policy, criticizes U.S. allies in Europe, and pledges to assert greater U.S. influence over the Western Hemisphere. 

This article explains how the White House’s foreign policy approach incorporates U.S. resource access, including to critical minerals and supply chains. CFR expert Charles A. Kupchan argues that Trump’s “America First” rhetoric illustrates a fondness for military intervention and neo-imperalism.

Trump has said acquiring Greenland is critical for national security and competition with China; this explainer discusses what to know about the Danish territory. Meanwhile, CFR Senior Fellow Liana Fix argues that U.S. control over Greenland could be existential for the NATO alliance. 

Meanwhile, Trump has floated the idea of forcing regime change in Iran using military action, which CFR’s Froman says will put the administration’s National Defense Strategy to the test.

In a policy brief for CFR’s Council Special Initiative on Securing Ukraine’s Future and the Wachenheim Program on Peace and Security, Distinguished Fellow Thomas Graham argues that ending the war in Ukraine would require the United States to offer continued assistance to Ukraine and resistance to Russia. The president’s peace deal attempt in November 2025, however, crossed multiple Ukrainian and European red lines but offered some areas of future negotiation, writes CFR’s Fix.

The last remaining treaty between the United States and Russia limiting nuclear weapons expired on February 5, ending decades of U.S.-Russia cooperation. CFR Stanton Nuclear Security Senior Fellow Erin D. Dumbacher interviews four arms control experts about the future of the treaty and the risk of an arms race.

For more, the Council’s Special Initiative on Securing Ukraine’s Future provides timely, informed analysis as the war enters its fifth year.

This explainer unpacks the Gaza Peace Deal, a twenty-point plan created by the Trump administration to facilitate peace between Israel and Gaza. For Foreign Affairs, Senior Fellow Ray Takeyh observes Trump’s lack of reticence in wading into Middle East conflicts and how his approach differs from that of past presidents. 

In late 2025, protests over economic grievances in Iran erupted into calls for regime change, prompting backlash from the government. CFR Fellows Elliott Abrams, Henri Barkey, Steven Cook, and Elisa Ewers describe how other Middle Eastern countries have reacted to Iran’s tumult. Elsewhere in the Mideast, expert F. Gregory Gause III discusses U.S.-Saudi relations amid historic regional changes and new political pressures on The President’s Inbox podcast. 

Prior to taking office, Trump pledged to carry out the “largest domestic deportation operation” in U.S. history, arguing that immigration harms the U.S. economy. These explainers dive into the administration’s contentious immigration policy: 

This Backgrounder contextualizes the U.S. approach to securing the southern border, and this article examines which countries are subject to Trump’s travel ban.

The administration has made several major funding cuts to U.S. foreign assistance. In nine charts, CFR International Affairs Fellow Sam Vigersky explores how 2025 was the worst year for humanitarian assistance on record. CFR’s Think Global Health charts how foreign aid cuts have gutted global health funding.

The United States has historically been the largest donor to the United Nations, but Trump signed a series of executive orders to withdraw U.S. engagement from multiple international organizations. This article analyzes recent funding trends.

U.S. military forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in an early-morning operation in January. CFR’s Center for Preventive Action tracks the years of tension between the United States and Venezuela preceding the operation. CFR experts Elliott Abrams, Max Boot, Shannon K. O’Neil, and Roxanna Vigil discuss Venezuela’s future following Maduro’s capture, while CFR experts Alice C. Hill, David M. Hart, and Lindsay Iversen assess what Washington’s control of the country’s oil sales means for U.S. climate and energy policy. 

U.S.-Cuba relations have also soured after Trump rolled back several Biden-era policies aimed at reconciling the two countries. This Backgrounder explains how different administrations have handled conflict and cooperation with the island.

In addition to withdrawing from the Paris Agreement, the Trump administration has rolled back several renewable energy policies and climate protections, including the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. CFR Senior Fellows David M. Hart, Alice C. Hill, and Varun Sivaram discuss the potential consequences of these efforts.

In July 2025, Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a sweeping tax law that included reducing incentives for renewable energy investments. This article unpacks which energy technologies will be affected.

Meanwhile, international competition over dominance in emerging technologies continues. CFR’s Hart offers an expert’s take on how the United States should respond to China’s electric vehicle revolution. 

To read more about the latest developments for U.S. energy and climate policy, visit CFR’s Climate Realism Initiative hub page.