Former Clinton-era official worried about Trump's foreign policy

US President Donald Trump. Photo: AP

Wendy Sherman, former chief nuclear negotiator with Iran and former North Korea adviser to former President Bill Clinton, said President Trump's decision to impose tariffs of up to $60 billion on Chinese imports comes at a time when Washington needs Beijing's help in containing a nuclear-armed North Korea.

In addition, according to Ms. Sherman, the decision to replace Mr. HRMcMaster with Mr. Bolton, a politician with a “hawkish” ideology, could cause more risks in this trilateral relationship, especially before a historic summit expected to take place between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Bolton has previously advocated scrapping the Iran nuclear deal and justified the importance of US action against North Korea. Sherman, now a professor at Harvard University’s Kennedy School and a senior adviser at the consulting firm Albright Stonebridge, said Bolton’s hawkish views could encourage Trump to do what he wants on North Korea and Iran.

“There are a lot of things at stake right now, and my biggest concern is that the president is tackling each issue one by one, without understanding that all of these issues are interconnected, so we need to consider a comprehensive strategy,” the expert said.

Ms Sherman said US Defense Secretary James Mattis could try to ease tensions behind the scenes, but it was unclear how successful he would be.

President Trump has set a mid-May deadline for European powers to meet his demands for changes to the Iran nuclear deal, which would place limits on Tehran's nuclear program.

Sherman said French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to Washington in April will be "crucial" to the fate of the deal, noting that Macron appears to agree with his counterpart Trump on this issue./.