A Very Brief Overview of President Joe Biden’s Foreign Policy Agenda
Article Published in The Zesty Press, Edition 1 on May 6, 2021
It is safe to say that President Joe Biden has a lot on his plate at home, such as the COVID 19 pandemic, but what is President Biden doing abroad? Here are a few things President Biden is doing, region by region, to enhance the United States’ international image, crack down on human rights abuses abroad, and help allies of the U.S. flourish.
North America
Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau and President Biden exchanged a thirty minute conversation over the phone on January 22nd, and for the most part the two countries' priorities aligned well. The only disagreement was on President Biden revoking the construction permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline which transports oil between the two countries. While Biden admitted the decision would create hardship in Canada, he defended his decision by saying he was restoring a decision made by the Obama administration and upholding campaign promises.
With immigrants piling up at the U.S.-Mexico border president Biden has publicly stated he will not make a visit even though it could be good for his international image. Biden has told possible immigrants, “Don’t leave your town.” Most immigrants say that they are coming because they think the Biden administration would be more willing to let them in then the Trump administration. In a press conference when Jen Psaki, White House Press Secretary, was asked why president Biden has raised the refugee caps (the maximum number of asylum seekers let into the country), she said that Biden didn’t raise the refugee cap because the government “wants to do it in an effective manner.”
South America
President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil is at a political standstill with President Joe Biden when it comes to deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest. For three years now, Bolsonaro has continued to cut environmental protection funding, and deforestation was reportedly 10% more in 2020 than in 2019. Will the U.S. do anything about this? There is question that Bolsonaro will even try cooperate with Biden on stopping the deforestation of the Amazon and climate change after a letter sent by New Jersey Democrat, Bob Menedez, who is the chair of the Senate Foriegn Relations Committee, to Bolsonaro expressing a warning that Bolsanaro’s foriegn minister’s alignment with domestic terrorists in the United States “could have ramifications for our diplomatic relationships moving forward.” This could be a warning that the U.S. might not be able to cooperate with Brazil to help stop deforestation in the Amazon in the near future.
Europe
After the poisoning, arrest, and conviction of Alexey Navalny in Russia, along with the European Union, President Biden revealed that the U.S. would be imposing numerous new sanctions on Russia. The Treasury Department went further and sanctioned seven Russian officials. The sanctions were met by overall approval from the rest of Europe, the UK foriegn secretary tweeted, “The British government welcomes EU and US sanctions against those responsible for the poisoning and arbitrary detention of Navalny”.
Africa
When president Biden lifted the Muslim travel ban during his first day in office, he allowed people from these predominatly Muslim countries in Africa to get visas and enter the U.S.: Nigeria, Sudan, Eritrea, Egypt, Libya and Tanzania. This will allow families who split because of the refugee crisis to reunite and visit each other more often.
Asia
The rise of China has caught Biden’s attention and even said it is one of the administration’s biggest foriegn policy challenges. President Biden’s government has already started to connect with its allies in the Asia-Pacific region. Biden has had phone calls on the subject of China with prime minister Yoshihide Suga of Japan, Scott Morrison PM of Australia, and the president of South Korea, Moon Jae-in. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has also had conversations about the PRC with his equivalencies in many more countries in the region. China has been openly willing to work with the U.S. to, “Get back on the right track,” with their relationship. However China still continues to deny that the Uighur minority in the Xinjiang province have been mistreated even though there is significant evidence of secret internment camps and what the U.S. government describes as genocide. It is clear that this will be a big issue in future U.S.-China negotiations, but if China won’t stop there will most likely be more sanctions and international investigations.
Australia
The U.S. maintains a healthy relationship with Australia. In fact, Australian PM Scott Morrison has stated he already invited president Biden to visit the country and continued to say that Biden reacted positively to the invitation. Joe Biden has not talked publicly about the floods in Australia and has not given any hint that he will send humanitarian aid down under.
Works Cited
Blinken, Antony J. "Imposing Sanctions on Russia for the Poisoning and Imprisonment of Aleksey Navalny." U.S. Department of State, U.S. Government, 2 March 2021. Accessed 25 March 2021.
Cochrane, David. “Biden pledged to work with Canada on 'Buy American' during call with Trudeau, official says.” CBC News, 22 January, 2021. Accessed 24 March 2021.
Chutel, Lynsey. “The United States Returns to Africa.” Foreign Policy, 24 March 2021. Accessed 25 March 2021.
Hansler, Jennifer. "Biden administration unveils raft of sanctions on Russia over Navalny poisoning and imprisonment." CNN, 2 March 2021. Accessed 25 March 2021.
"Joe Biden and Jair Bolsonaro square off over the Amazon." The Economist, 20 March 2021. Accessed 24 March 2021.
Langevin, Mark S. "Biden, Brazil and the Amazon." The Hill, 2 March 2021. Accessed 24 March 2021.
Lee, Yen Nee. "Biden beefs up administration with Asia experts as the U.S. prepares to take on China." CNBC, 4 February 2021. Accessed 28 March 2021.
Mcguirk, Rod. "Australian prime minister says he invited Biden Down Under." Associated Press, 4 February 2021. Accessed 28 March 2021.
Sullivan, Kate. "Biden tells migrants not to come to US: 'Don't leave your town.'" CNN, 16 March 2021. Accessed 23 March 2021.
"Uighurs: Chinese foreign minister says genocide claims 'absurd’.'" BBC, 7 March 2021. Accessed 27 March 2021.
"U.S. Relations With Canada." U.S. Department of State, U.S. Government, 16 July 2020. Accessed 23 March 2021.
