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SUMMARY: French President Emmanuel Macron’s Visit to the US

Biden and Macron discussed a host of issues, including the ongoing war in Ukraine, promoting human rights, military, economic and space cooperation, nuclear deterrence, and climate change.

December 2, 2022

Author

Statecraft Staff
SUMMARY: French President Emmanuel Macron’s Visit to the US 
US President Joe Biden stands with French President Emmanuel Macron after a news conference in he White House
IMAGE SOURCE: SUSAN WALSH/AP

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday met with his American counterpart Joe Biden in Washington as part of a three-day visit to the United States (US). Biden hosted Macron in what was the Biden administration’s first state visit at the White House.

Biden said Macron’s visit underscores the “enduring strength” and “vitality” of the US’ relationship with its oldest ally, noting that the visit had further cemented this partnership. “The wellspring of our strength is a shared commitment to liberty and justice for all—liberté, egalité, fraternité,” Biden said during a ceremony welcoming Macron.

The two leaders discussed a host of issues, including the ongoing war in Ukraine, promoting human rights, military, economic and space cooperation, nuclear deterrence, and climate change.

The following is a brief summary of Biden’s meeting with Macron.

Transatlantic, European and Global Security

The leaders vowed to work “tirelessly” to protect Europe against military and non-military threats to the continent’s security. “This entails maintaining our nations’ collective defence and security, including through NATO; pursuing a more robust, integrated, and coherent approach to building national and collective resilience,” they said in a joint statement.

They also discussed improving security and defence cooperation in other parts of the world like the Indo-Pacific, Africa, and the Middle East.

Ukraine

They began their discussions on Ukraine by condemning “Russia’s illegal war of aggression” against the country and its indiscriminate targeting of civilians, calling them “war crimes” whose perpetrators should be held accountable. Biden and Macron also rejected Russia’s “illegal annexation of sovereign Ukrainian territory,” referring to Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia.

Furthermore, they condemned Moscow’s “irresponsible nuclear rhetoric” and announced a new package of political, economic, security, and humanitarian assistance for Ukraine, including the provision of air defence systems, equipment needed to repair Ukraine’s energy grids that have been damaged in Russian airstrikes, and equipment to help the Ukrainian civil defence survive through winter.

“They also intend to continue providing robust direct budget support for Ukraine, and to urge the international financial institutions to scale up their financial support,” the joint statement said.

In addition, the presidents reiterated their resolve to hold Russia to account “for widely documented atrocities and war crimes, committed both by its regular armed forces and by its proxies.” In this regard, they vowed to approach organisations like the International Criminal Court, the United Nations Human Rights Commission, and the Organization of the Security and Co-operation of Europe (OSCE).

Indo-Pacific

The duo agreed to bolster cooperation in the Indo-Pacific to advance the region’s security and prosperity and “promote a rules-based international order” and ensure “freedom of navigation” in the region.

“The US and France intend to expand their regional diplomatic, development, and economic engagement with a view to building resilience in the Pacific Islands,” the press release said.

Biden and Macron also touched upon “China’s challenge to the rules-based international order” and agreed to “work together with China on important global issues like climate change.”

China has been trying to gain the upper hand, both militarily and economically, in the Indo-Pacific. According to the United States, China has been expanding its military presence in the region by “abusing commercial arrangements” with host countries.

Beijing has also been trying to counter ‘anti-China’ alliances in the region, particularly the Quad, a grouping made up of India, the US, Japan, and Australia. Experts predict that the Indo-Pacific will be a major conflict centre between China and its rivals. 

Earlier this year, in its strategy for the Indo-Pacific, the US said it will look to “bolster Indo-Pacific security” and ensure a “free and open Indo-Pacific.” Similarly, last week, Canada announced a $1.7 billion initiative to increase its military presence in the Indo-Pacific to counter China’s threat.

They also noted that work to reduce tensions across the Taiwan Strait and take North Korea to task regarding its “unlawful” ballistic missile tests that pose a threat to regional security.

Africa

The pair agreed “to work with African partners to pursue shared governance, security, and economic priorities on the continent” and support democratic institutions and civil societies in the continent.

Biden and Macron pledged to support climate change initiatives in the continent, particularly the Great Green Wall initiative to support sustainable development and peace in the Sahara and Sahel regions. “Fighting disinformation and terrorism remain joint priorities of France and the US on the continent,” the statement said, noting that the countries aim to partner with regional organisations like the African Union to address the challenges faced by the continent and increase their trade and investment partnership.

Middle East

The presidents praised the decision of several Arab nations to normalise ties with Israel, including the signing of the landmark Abraham Accords, which saw the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan establish formal ties with Israel, and the formation of the Negev Forum earlier this by Israel, Egypt, Morocco, Bahrain, and the UAE.

Furthermore, they vowed to help Lebanon through its political and economic turmoil, improve cooperation among members of the coalition to defeat ISIS, provide more humanitarian aid to the people of Syria, support the anti-regime protesters in Iran, and ensure that Tehran never gets a nuclear weapon.

They also condemned Iran’s transfer of weapons to Russia and other non-state actors, saying it is a violation of international law. They promised to prevent the proliferation of Iranian weapons technology in the region and beyond.

Nuclear Deterrence, Non-proliferation, and Disarmament

“The US and France reaffirm that nuclear deterrence remains essential for their national security and a core component of NATO’s overall capabilities for deterrence and defence,” they noted, claiming that the “fundamental purpose of NATO’s nuclear capability is to preserve peace, prevent coercion, and deter aggression against the Alliance.”

Biden and Macron also reaffirmed their commitment to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and expressed their opposition to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which they said “does not reflect the increasingly challenging international security environment and is at odds with the existing non-proliferation and disarmament architecture.”

Economy, Emerging Technologies, Trade, and Supply Chains

They reaffirmed their commitment “to an open and rules-based multilateral trading system,” calling for a “modernised” World Trade Organization (WTO) be placed at the core of such a system.

They also agreed to promote bilateral trade and investment in the fields of technology, aerospace, IT, pharmaceuticals, and finance. The leaders expressed their commitment to developing “diverse and robust” supply chains for critical minerals and vowed to accelerate the global transition to sustainable and renewable energy.

The statement also noted the two countries' commitment to tackling climate change through the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). However, Macron is reportedly not that enthusiastic about the Act and told US lawmakers prior to his meeting with Biden that the Act heavily favours US climate technology.

Similarly, following a meeting with his German counterpart Robert Habeck last Tuesday, French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire threatened to establish a “buy European act” to firmly retaliate against the IRA, which could impact European companies due to the tax benefits it accords to American-made goods. “When we look at the IRA, the status quo is unthinkable, a trade war would be irresponsible,” Le Maire stated, adding, “Europe has to defend its interests as a priority.”

Space

Biden and Macron vowed to strengthen the US-France alliance “across all sectors of space cooperation,” especially in Earth observation and climate change. They affirmed that they will not conduct “destructive” anti-satellite tests and vowed to deepen cooperation in defence and military activities in space.

In this respect, they praised the 2020 Artemis Accords, aimed at gathering international support for building a lunar economy, joint space exploration, and landing astronauts, including the first woman, on the Moon by 2024.

Macron also held a separate meeting on space cooperation with US Vice President Kamala Harris to discuss joint partnerships in the civilian, commercial, and security uses of space.

Energy

The US and France are committed to accelerating the development of clean energy, Biden and Macron said, vowing to cooperate on the civilian uses of nuclear energy as well. They also pledged to “further reduce reliance on civil nuclear and related goods from Russia.”

“The US and France agreed to promote advanced nuclear power globally, which has a key role to play in order to reduce global CO2 emissions,” the joint statement noted.  Furthermore, Biden agreed to help France and Europe diversify their natural gas supplies in an effort to reduce their dependence on Russia.

European countries have been trying to reduce their dependence on Russian energy following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as Russia supplies around 40% of Europe’s natural gas needs.

Climate and Biodiversity

Expressing their “deep concern regarding the growing impact of climate change and nature loss,” Biden and Macron agreed to “continue pursuing their efforts to support the phase out of coal as soon as possible, both domestically and in emerging economies.”

“They plan to increase their support towards those countries that host the most critical reserves of irrecoverable carbon and important biodiversity,” the press release noted. The presidents also agreed to work together to protect rainforests, tackle deforestation, and protect oceans and marine life.

Strengthening the International Financial Architecture

They promised to strengthen the global financial architecture to protect vulnerable countries from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war. “This includes working together to ensure that multilateral systems are delivering timely debt relief from all key creditors to countries in distress,” they noted. 

They also reiterated their commitment “to help meet the global ambition of $100 billion in voluntary contributions as soon as possible for countries most in need.”

Global Health and Food Security

They agreed to strengthen cooperation to fight global threats to health security, including the COVID-19 pandemic, by increasing cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO).

Furthermore, they agreed to work together to respond to regional and global food security challenges by promoting “an open and transparent agricultural market, investing in resilient food systems, and refraining from imposing any unnecessary trade obstacles.”

Democracy and Human Rights

They noted that strengthening democratic values and promoting human rights “is essential to meeting the unprecedented challenges of our time.” Biden and Macron reinforced the commitment to support free and independent media, tackle the proliferation of surveillance technologies and disinformation, and advance technology for democracy.

Cyber and Disinformation

The presidents agreed to advance cybersecurity and noted that the US and France plan to have a cybersecurity dialogue in early 2023. They also said the two countries would work together to disrupt ransomware globally.

In a press conference held after their meeting, Biden called Paris one of Washington’s “strongest partners and our most capable allies.”

Macron was also hosted at a state luncheon by VP Harris at the White House, where she praised the long-standing US-France relationship.

He met with Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the luncheon. “Together, the US and France are defending the international rules-based order that we helped to build after the Second World War,” Blinken said.

Author

Statecraft Staff

Editorial Team

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