Democrats Take Congress, Raising Questions for Trump’s Asia Policy
Democrats gained control of both chambers in the U.S. midterms, prompting analysts to assess potential impacts on trade, China relations and regional security in Asia.
Democrats secured majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate in the United States midterm elections on Nov. 3, giving the party control of both chambers of Congress. The shift in legislative power is expected to influence President Donald Trump’s agenda, particularly in areas affecting Asian economies.
Trade experts said the new congressional makeup could increase scrutiny of the administration’s trade strategy. Stephen Olson, a visiting senior fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, warned that the president may feel freer to pursue aggressive measures, including possible Section 301 tariffs on “excess capacity” in China and other Asian markets. Olson added that a more assertive Congress might push for exemptions or seek to reclaim authority over trade policy that has been delegated to the executive.
“Section 301 tariffs on excess capacity could be forthcoming shortly and new trade actions against key partners could also be opened. That obviously would be bad news, especially in the Indo-Pacific,” Olson said.
Analysts noted that a Democratic Congress could also adopt a tougher stance toward Beijing. Adrian Ang, a research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said lawmakers might pressure the administration for stricter trade and technology restrictions and could scrutinize the delayed $14 billion arms package for Taiwan. He cautioned that such moves could test the strategic stability that President Trump and Chinese President Xi have sought to maintain.
“All of those, but especially the last item, will place stress on the new US-China constructive strategic stability based on respect, fairness, and reciprocity agreed to by both presidents, Trump and Xi,” Ang said.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning described the elections as an internal U.S. matter and reiterated Beijing’s willingness to work with Washington on existing agreements while managing differences.
Regional security experts said the midterm results are unlikely to overhaul U.S. defence commitments in the Indo-Pacific. Chong Ja Ian, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore, emphasized that while Congress can check certain presidential actions, the president retains primary authority over foreign policy, military decisions and tariffs.
“The midterm results look dramatic from a US domestic standpoint but for ASEAN, they may moderate but not fundamentally change US policy on trade, use of force, and diplomacy,” Chong said.
President Trump is scheduled to attend the ASEAN summit in Manila and later meet President Xi on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Shenzhen, events that may signal his approach to the region following the congressional shift.