It’s a difficult question to answer.  But whether I like it or not, Donald Trump will bring change – he made too many pre-election promises not to make good on at least some.

What might these changes be?  Will the United States start hiding behind tariff walls? Not likely.  Tariffs are a tax on local consumers. They mean everyone pays more for imported goods like clothes, footwear, cars and white goods. I’m confident we will not see the USA turn the clock back and enter into a trade war with China. 

What about immigration?  I predict no dramatic change.  There is no evidence that immigration has been a bad thing for America in net terms (or Australia for that matter). 

Indeed the United States is multi-cultural-central.  Its economy has been and continues to be under-pinned by its ethnic diversity.  So too is its society.

For me, the big question is; what change will we see in the direction of strategic policy and the style of diplomacy?

I believe there is only one thing that excites Donald Trump more than being in charge of the world’s biggest economy.  That is, exerting maximum influence on world affairs.

Sure, the world is not without its problems but the existing rules-based order (underpinned by institutions such as the United Nations) has served us well. 

We suffered two world wars before the 20th Century met its half-way mark but global peace has prevailed for the last seventy-two years.   

I hope Donald Trump doesn’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.