David G. Victor

[On tariffs on Chinese steel] Another paragraph in the essay the Trump administration is writing against international institutions.

Paris has a role to play in managing the climate problem, but what is really going to drive big reductions in emissions is change in technology and change in the political support for the policies needed to deploy those technologies. At the end of the day, [leaving Paris] doesn’t change the facts on the ground that many states are going ahead and doing something in this area...that the electric power industry is grappling with the need for more renewables and more gas, and lower emissions, and those are the facts that actually matter.

Comments like those made by Trump last week undercut the soft power of the U.S. and tarnish the country's reputation - and the reputation of Trump himself. They probably create some domestic politics problems for countries that want to buy LNG from U.S. suppliers.