US Politics

OpinionUS politicsMen on horses chasing Black asylum seekers? Sadly, America has seen it beforeMoustafa BayoumiThe Biden administration has condemned abuses at the border – while maintaining the policies underlying these abuses. That’s beyond cynical Thu 23 Sep 2021 06.22 EDTLast modified on Thu 23 Sep 2021 06.23 EDTYou’ve probably seen a photograph haunting the internet this week: a white-presenting man on horseback – uniformed, armed and sneering – is grabbing a shoeless Black man by the neck of his T-shirt. The Black man’s face bears an unmistakable look of horror. He struggles to remain upright while clinging dearly to some bags of food in his hands. Between the men, a long rein from the horse’s bridle arches menacingly in the air like a whip. The photograph was taken just a few days ago in Texas, but the tableau looks like something out of antebellum America.The image is profoundly upsetting, not just for what it portrays but for the history it evokes. What’s happening at the border right now puts two of our founding national myths – that we’re a land of liberty and a nation of immigrants – under scrutiny. To put it plainly, we don’t fare well under inspection.First, the current situation. This now iconic photo by photojournalist Paul Ratje was taken at a makeshift camp that has sprung up at the US-Mexico border at Del Rio, Texas. Over the past week or two, thousands of people, mostly Haitian, have crossed from the Mexican side of the Rio Grande to the US seeking asylum. It’s important to note that they didn’t come illegally; it is perfectly legal to arrive at a border point of entry and request asylum. But conditions in the camp, according to reports, have become fetid and nearly unlivable, forcing asylum seekers to trek back and forth across the river to buy food and supplies from the Mexican side.Then the men on horses showed up.In video broadcast by Al Jazeera, mounted border patrol agents can clearly be seen threatening, insulting and even lashing at the asylum seekers with their horses’ reins, growling at them to stay in Mexico. The images, which sparked justifiable outrage, quickly spread – as did rightwing defenses of the agents. Fox News, for example, was quick to point out that border patrol agents are not issued whips with their gear. But you don’t have to believe in alchemy to see that when a horse’s rein is used as whip, it becomes a whip.The Biden administration has ended use of the phrase ‘illegal alien’. It’s about time | Moustafa BayoumiRead moreChains, whips, horses, bloodhounds, branding irons: these were some of the tools used during New World slavery to preserve white hegemony. Most Americans know this, and I hold on to the hope that no one wants to return to such brutality. Every part of that miserable system was degrading. It was degrading to the enslaved, most obviously, and even, I would argue, to slaveholders, who surely lost more of their humanity each day that that monstrous system survived.In fact, New World slavery wasn’t just degrading. It was collective lunacy, often involving animals. Slaveholders and slave catchers – yes, that was a real profession – trained dogs to attack Black people, and then deliberately interpreted the attacks as proof that even dogs recognized Black inferiority.And those slave catchers? After Mexico formally abolished slavery in 1829, American slave catchers would routinely cross into Mexico – without authorization, it must be said – in search of runaway slaves from the US. In 1858, the Texas legislature even passed a law offering anyone returning an enslaved person “who may have escaped beyond the limits of the slave territory of the United States” a third of “the value of such slave”, with the government treasury paying the money. A noticeable uptick of kidnappings of people of African descent in Mexico followed. Needless to say, Mexico was not pleased.So history easily illustrates the US’s border hypocrisy. Yet the larger point is that every national border has always been a place that offers those who pass through one of two options: sanctuary or terror. The images emerging from Del Rio, explicitly recalling the collective shame of our past, are clearly pointing in the wrong direction. This might explain why the White House, which has executive authority over the border patrol, rushed to condemn the pictures.Asked about the footage, the White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, responded, “I don’t think anyone seeing that footage would think it was acceptable or appropriate.” Vice-President Kamala Harris said, “Human beings should never be treated that way.” The Department of Homeland Security has promised an investigation with “appropriate disciplinary actions”.But is this just image control? At the same time that it condemns the actions of its own law enforcement agency, the Biden administration has refused media access to the camp at Del Rio, invoked a Trump-era order (the rarely used public health law known as Title 42) to expel asylum seekers without review, and forcibly deported hundreds of Haitians in Texas – many of whom left the country more than a decade ago, after its 2010 earthquake – back to a country that is not only reeling from a massive earthquake last August but also from a political earthquake, the assassination of its president, last July.Without review, it’s impossible to know who is facing real threats of persecution when returned to Haiti. The United Nations human rights spokesperson, Marta Hurtado, said that the UN “is seriously concerned by the fact that it appears there have not been any individual assessments of the cases”. Why does the Biden administration not share her concern?One has to wonder if the same policies expelling Haitians from the US today would be in effect if those arriving at the border were Europeans or even Cubans. If history is any guide – for decades, the US privileged Cubans over Haitians and other Caribbean peoples in immigration matters – the answer is no.It’s one thing for the Biden administration to condemn abuses conducted by its own government that recall the worst parts of our national history. But it’s quite another to do so while maintaining the policies that enable those abuses. That’s not just cynical. It’s despicable.
Moustafa Bayoumi is the author of How Does It Feel to Be a Problem?: Being Young and Arab in America
TopicsUS politicsOpinionUS-Mexico borderUS immigrationBiden administrationcommentReuse this content More

Foreign policyBoris Johnson will return from US energised despite achieving littleAnalysis: tangible gains were hard to come by but PM will have enjoyed the up close and personal politics Heather Stewart Political editorThu 23 Sep 2021 03.27 EDTLast modified on Thu 23 Sep 2021 03.28 EDTBoris Johnson has flown back to the UK after his transatlantic jaunt reassured about his personal relationship with Joe Biden after the pair sought to put the chaos of the Kabul airlift behind them with face-to-face talks in the Oval Office.The warm personal rapport that characterised Johnson’s relationship with Donald Trump – who called him “Britain Trump” – was not obviously on display as he and Biden briefly addressed the press before retiring for private talks. Biden told an involved anecdote about travelling more than a million miles on Amtrak, which US reporters revealed he has wheeled out on several other occasions.Once the press had been forcefully ushered out by White House media handlers, however, witnesses said the pair held constructive talks. They discussed expanding the Aukus pact – announced last week – into a broader alliance that could cover other areas of shared interest, including safeguarding human rights, technology and expanding open markets.And on Capitol Hill, Johnson took the opportunity to try to soothe concerns about the operation of the Northern Ireland protocol, saying he remained committed to the Good Friday agreement.But news that the UK has all but abandoned hopes of a bilateral free trade agreement with the US underlined the fact that to bond with Biden, Johnson has had to trim his ambitions to fit the president’s agenda.The arch dealmaker Trump used to boast about the prospects for a trade agreement with the UK, but Biden has a packed legislative agenda at home that will take precedence over trying to win congressional backing for a complex set of trade negotiations.As well as taking on China – essentially the purpose of the Aukus pact – the two countries are both committed to tackling the climate crisis, and in doing so, creating more green jobs in their own economies.Johnson’s hopes of securing a successful outcome to the Cop26 climate summit in November that keeps 1.5C of warming within reach took a significant step forward when Biden doubled the US’s contribution to climate finance. When the prime minister met Biden’s vice-president, Kamala Harris, they were able to agree that the $11.2bn US climate pledge made it, as Johnson put it, “a great day for the world”.Other tangible gains from the visit were harder to come by: Johnson said he had won the backing of the president to lift the ban on British lamb exports, though consultations are ongoing and no formal decision has yet been announced.No 10 was also keen to claim credit for the lifting of the US travel ban, claiming a bilateral “travel taskforce” that has been operating since the summer had helped to change the Americans’ minds. But the changes apply equally to scores of countries.The UK government appeared to have had little warning that the decision would be announced on Monday morning, and was left scrambling to establish the details, including whether AstraZeneca jabs would be accepted under the new system.But Downing Street will be happy to bank the intangible benefits of a closer rapport with the US – and Johnson, no fan of Zoom calls, returns to the UK energised by three days of the kind of politics he likes best: up close and personal.TopicsForeign policyBoris JohnsonJoe BidenUS politicsanalysisReuse this content More

US politicsGOP plan to block House measure could trigger an unprecedented $28tn defaultOpposition from Mitch McConnell means the spending package is dead and the US faces a shutdown and default Hugo Lowell in Washington DCThu 23 Sep 2021 02.00 EDTLast modified on Thu 23 Sep 2021 02.30 EDTTop Republicans in the Senate are poised to block a key spending package advanced by Democrats in a move that could precipitate the dual fiscal crises of a government shutdown and an unprecedented US default on its colossal debt obligations.The House has approved a combined stopgap funding measure that would keep the federal government open until early December and suspend the debt limit until after the 2022 midterm elections, sending the legislation to the Senate.But the Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell swiftly announced that Republicans would sink the measure with a filibuster and prevent it from receiving the 60 votes needed to pass – causing a government shutdown on 1 October and a default weeks later.Biden knows fate of spending plan will show extent of his power – and define his legacy Read moreThe opposition from McConnell means the Democrats’ proposal is dead on arrival. And with no serious discussions to resolve the high-stakes showdown in sight, the US now faces the prospect of a shutdown government defaulting on $28tn of debt.At issue are the consequences of an unprecedented default on federal debt, which could plunge the economy into an immediate recession, trigger a meltdown in global financial markets and lead to the downgrading of America’s credit rating. Economists say a prolonged impasse could cost the US economy millions of jobs, wipe out trillions in household debt and send unemployment rates surging.The debt limit corresponds to the amount the US government can borrow to pay its bills. Most recently, Democrats joined Republicans to suspend it until the end of July, after which the Treasury Department has used emergency measures to finance obligations.The US has previously avoided defaults at the last minute but with Republicans entrenched in their refusal to tackle the debt limit problem in bipartisan fashion, the latest standoff is likely to come down to the wire, said sources familiar with the matter.Treasury secretary Janet Yellen reiterated the urgency of the situation in a recent letter to Congress, warning that the US was on track to default in mid-October and cause “irreparable harm” to the economy if Congress failed to take action.Alarmed at the deteriorating nature of discussions in the House and Senate, Yellen also held private discussions this month with McConnell and former Republican Treasury secretaries Steven Mnuchin and Henry Paulson, though those did not resolve the impasse.Democrats have long insisted that Republicans tackle both the government shutdown issue and the debt limit issue through a bipartisan vote, arguing that they joined Republicans in raising the debt ceiling when Donald Trump was president.The House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, have also reiterated in recent days that it was mainly because of Republicans that the national debt increased by roughly $8tn during the previous administration.Pelosi said in a recent news conference that the need to suspend the debt limit stemmed in part because of tax cuts to the wealthy enacted during Trump’s time as president. “We’re paying the credit card, the Trump credit card,” Pelosi told reporters.But the Democrats’ plan to pair the stopgap spending bill with the debt limit suspension – and dare Republicans to block it – has now run headlong into Republican resistance led by McConnell that shows no sign of reversing course.McConnell has suggested for weeks that Democrats instead include the debt limit language in the $3.5tn infrastructure package that Schumer plans to pass with a fast-track procedure known as reconciliation that requires only a party-line vote.But House budget committee chairman John Yarmuth dismissed the proposal as unworkable on Wednesday, saying that his staff had determined that it was “virtually impossible” to tackle the debt limit through the infrastructure package or even as a standalone bill.The difficulty, according to sources familiar with the procedure, is that including the debt limit in the $3.5tn infrastructure package would require Democrats to return the bill to the House and Senate budget committees and then schedule votes in both chambers.Yarmuth told reporters there would not be enough time to re-run the entire process before the looming end-of-month deadline – meaning that without a reversal by Republicans, the US could drop off the proverbial fiscal cliff.“We could start the process over with a separate budget-reconciliation bill that is devoted to just raising the debt limit – the law allows us to do that,” Yarmuth said. But he warned: “That’s a matter of weeks. So, you’re up against a potential deadline.”Democrats could still move to advance a ‘clean’ stopgap funding bill devoid of language to suspend the debt limit, which Republicans have privately suggested they would not filibuster, and take action on the debt limit in a subsequent standalone bill.But even though such a measure would avert the immediate calamity of a government shutdown on 1 October, it would still leave Congress with no path to lift the debt limit after Republican senator Ted Cruz confirmed he would block a standalone bill.Justin Goodman, a spokesperson for Schumer, criticized McConnell for refusing to join Democrats for what has in years past been regarded as a routine step that allows the US treasury to meet its debt obligations.“Every American will know that Senate Republicans are to blame,” Goodman said.TopicsUS politicsRepublicansDemocratsUS SenatenewsReuse this content More

HawaiiHawaii to remove forbidden staircase due to ‘rampant trespassing’The Haiku Stairs, a nearly 4,000-step trail across Oahu’s Ko’olau mountain range, has drawn tourists despite being prohibited from use Dani Anguiano@ More

Key events

Show

5.38pm EDT
17:38

Federal Reserve hints it will end pandemic stimulus programs

5.00pm EDT
17:00

Today so far

4.29pm EDT
16:29

Biden to consider ‘potential further executive actions’ after police reform talks fail

1.53pm EDT
13:53

Police reform negotiations come to a formal close, Bass says

12.54pm EDT
12:54

France to send ambassador back to US after Macron-Biden call

12.03pm EDT
12:03

Today so far

11.00am EDT
11:00

Biden to announce US will donate another 500m vaccine doses to other countries

Live feed

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5.44pm EDT
17:44

Dominic Rushe

The latest Fed statement also showed that more members of the Fed committee now believe that interest rates should rise in the near future. Nine of the 18 officials expect to raise interest rates by the end of 2022, up from seven officials in June when a majority said they thought rates would rise in 2023.
US stock markets reacted favorably to the news, which suggests the economy is still recovering from the pandemic, albeit with uncertainties remaining. Investors have been spooked in recent days by news that troubled Chinese property developer Evergrande could default on its $300bn debts. The company’s woes could drag in investors worldwide, but on Tuesday the company said it would be able to meet some of its obligations.
Powell said the situation “seems particular to China which has very high debt for an emerging market economy.
“In terms of the implications for us, there is not a lot of direct United States exposure,” he said.

5.38pm EDT
17:38

Federal Reserve hints it will end pandemic stimulus programs

Dominic Rushe

The Federal Reserve signaled on Wednesday that it may start cutting its enormous pandemic stimulus programs as soon as November and could raise interest rates next year.
The US central bank left interest rates unchanged at near zero after its latest meeting. Rates were cut in March 2020 as the US economy reeled from the impact of the pandemic. But the Fed also indicated it may soon start pulling back on the $120bn in monthly asset purchases program that it started when the coronavirus hit the US.
“If progress continues broadly as expected, the Committee judges that a moderation in the pace of asset purchases may soon be warranted,” the Fed’s post-meeting statement said.
At a press conference Fed chair Jerome Powell said the jobs market was “very strong” and that while the central bank was trimming its forecasts for economic growth it still foresees “rapid growth” in the economy.
Powell said the pandemic was still having an impact and that bottlenecks and shortages were driving price inflation but he expected that situation to ease as long as the coronavirus pandemic is contained. “The path of the economy still continues to depend on the course of the virus,” he said.
Read more:

5.17pm EDT
17:17

Florida’s surgeon general Joseph Ladapo has issued a new emergency rule that parents can decide whether or not their children should quarantine after being exposed to someone who tested positive for Covid-19.
Governor Ron DeSantis announced that Lapado, who has been skeptical of research-backed public health measures like mask-wearing, lockdowns and vaccines to curb the spread of coronavirus, would be the state’s new surgeon general on Tuesday. The Republican governor has tried to ban schools from enforcing mask mandates.
The new rule states that parents rather than school administrations, must be the ones to decide asymptomatic kids who have been exposed to the virus should quarantine.
It was “important to respect the rights of parents”, Ladapo said.
The new emergency rule will replace a previous rule requiring students to quarantine for four days after being exposed.

Updated
at 5.33pm EDT

5.00pm EDT
17:00

Today so far

That’s it from me today. My west coast colleague, Maanvi Singh, will take over the blog for the next few hours.
Here’s where the day stands so far:

Joe Biden announced the US will donate another 500 million Pfizer coronavirus vaccine doses to other countries. The announcement means the Biden administration has now committed to sending more than 1.1 billion vaccine doses abroad. “Put another way, for every one shot we’ve administered to date in America, we have now committed to do three shots to the rest of the world,” Biden said at a virtual Covid summit today.
Emmanuel Macron is sending the French ambassador to the US back to Washington, after he and Biden had a conversation today about France’s outrage over the Aukus defense deal. The French president also plans to meet with Biden in Europe next month.
Bipartisan talks over a police reform bill have officially collapsed, after months of back-and-back between the negotiators. Democratic congresswoman Karen Bass blamed the failure on Republicans involved in the negotiations, saying in a statement, “Every time, more was demanded to the point that there would be no progress made in the bill that we were left discussing.” Biden said he would consider “potential further executive actions” to address police reform after the talks collapsed.
House Democrats passed their spending bill to keep the government funded and suspend the debt ceiling until December. However, the legislation faces bleak prospects in the evenly divided Senate, where Republican leader Mitch McConnell has pledged to oppose any effort to raise the debt ceiling.
The select committee investigating the Capitol insurrection is considering issuing a number of subpoenas to former Trump administration officials. Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino and former Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale are among those who are likely to get subpoenaed by the committee.

Maanvi will have more coming up, so stay tuned.

4.44pm EDT
16:44

House speaker Nancy Pelosi said the chamber is “on schedule” to hold a vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill on Monday.
Asked whether the House will also be ready to vote on the reconciliation package by Monday, as progressive lawmakers have demanded, Pelosi did not give a concrete answer.

Zak Hudak
(@cbszak)
“We’re on schedule, let’s put it that way,” Speaker Pelosi says of the bipartisan infrastructure deal slated to reach the floor next wk. She wouldn’t say when the reconciliation package would be considered but said, “We’re calm and everybody’s good.” pic.twitter.com/H6hZa8sigz

September 22, 2021

“We’re calm, and everybody’s good, and our work’s almost done,” Pelosi told reporters on Capitol Hill.
The Democratic speaker met with Joe Biden at the White House this afternoon, as progressives threaten to block the infrastructure bill over their concerns about the reconciliation package.

4.29pm EDT
16:29

Biden to consider ‘potential further executive actions’ after police reform talks fail

Joe Biden said he will consider “potential further executive actions” to address police reform after the bipartisan team of congressional negotiators failed to reach a deal on a bill.
“The murder of George Floyd is a stain on the soul of America,” the president said in a new statement addressing the collapse of the negotiations. “It spurred the nation to collectively demand justice, and we will be remembered for how we responded to the call.”
Biden said he was “deeply grateful” to congresswoman Karen Bass and Senator Cory Booker for working to reach an agreement over the past several months.
“Regrettably, Senate Republicans rejected enacting modest reforms, which even the previous president had supported, while refusing to take action on key issues that many in law enforcement were willing to address,” Biden said.
The president noted he still hoped to sign police reform legislation, but he said he would soon explore additional steps to determine what executive action he may be able to take on the issue.
“In the coming weeks, we will continue to work with Senator Booker, Congresswoman Bass, and other members of Congress who are serious about meaningful police reform,” Biden said.
“The White House will continue to consult with the civil rights and law enforcement and civil rights communities, as well as victims’ families to define a path forward, including through potential further executive actions I can take to advance our efforts to live up to the American ideal of equal justice under law.”

4.11pm EDT
16:11

The White House shared a photo from Joe Biden’s phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron earlier today.
“Today I spoke with President Emmanuel Macron of France, and reaffirmed the importance of French and European engagement in the Indo-Pacific region,” Biden said in a tweet that included the photo.
“I look forward to a process of in-depth consultations and to meeting with him in October.”

President Biden
(@POTUS)
Today I spoke with President Emmanuel Macron of France, and reaffirmed the importance of French and European engagement in the Indo-Pacific region. I look forward to a process of in-depth consultations and to meeting with him in October. pic.twitter.com/MouVMCBgDR

September 22, 2021

Asked about the two leaders’ conversation during the White House press briefing, Jen Psaki said the call was “friendly” and lasted around 30 minutes.
“It was one where we’re hopeful and the president is hopeful this is a step in returning to normal,” Psaki said of the phone call.
Psaki did not explicitly say whether Biden apologized to Macron for failing to give him advance notice about the Aukus defense deal, instead telling reporters, “He acknowledged that there could have been greater consultation.”

3.55pm EDT
15:55

Civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, who have represented the family of George Floyd, expressed “extreme disappointment” over the collapse of police reform talks in Congress.
“In the last year and a half, we have witnessed hundreds of thousands of Americans urging lawmakers to bring desperately needed change to policing in this country so there can be greater accountability, transparency, and ultimately trust in policing,” the lawyers said in a statement.
“We can not let this be a tragic, lost opportunity to regain trust between citizens and police.”
Crump and Romanucci urged Senate Democrats to bring the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which passed the House in March, to the floor “so Americans can see who is looking out for their communities’ best interests”.

3.39pm EDT
15:39

In his own statement on the collapse of the police reform negotiations, Democratic Senator Cory Booker said the talks failed because there was “too wide a gulf with our negotiating partners”.
“We made it clear from the beginning of our negotiations that a bill must ensure true accountability, transparency, and the policing standards necessary to bring an end to horrific incidents of violence Americans are routinely seeing — like the murder of George Floyd,” Booker said.
“After months of exhausting every possible pathway to a bipartisan deal, it remains out of reach right now, even after working collaboratively with and securing the support of policing groups like the Fraternal Order of Police and International Association of Chiefs of Police for our proposals.”
Echoing fellow Democratic negotiator Karen Bass, Booker said the time had come to “explore all other options to achieve meaningful and common sense policing reform”.
“I will not stop fighting until we achieve change that keeps our communities and police officers safe,” Booker concluded.

3.20pm EDT
15:20

Jen Psaki said Joe Biden was “disappointed” that the bipartisan negotiations over the police reform bill collapsed without a deal today.
“Unfortunately, Republicans rejected reforms that even the previous president had supported and refused to engage on key issues that many in law enforcement were willing to address,” Psaki said.
The press secretary noted Biden was “greatly appreciative” for congresswoman Karen Bass and senator Cory Booker’s efforts in the negotiations.
Psaki said Biden would be meeting with members of Congress, law enforcement groups and civil rights advocates in the weeks to come to discuss a path forward, “including potential executive actions” that he can take on police reform.

3.03pm EDT
15:03

Jen Psaki said the White House is “certainly” concerned about the possibility of the government shutting down next week if a funding bill is not approved.
“Until a [continuing resolution] has passed that funds the government, we’ll certainly have a concern,” the White House press secretary said. “But our goal and our focus is on preventing that from happening.”
Noting that the House has already passed a bill to fund the government and suspend the debt ceiling until December, the press secretary expressed hope of the situation being resolved soon.
However, the House-passed bill faces dim prospects in the evenly divided Senate, where Republican leader Mitch McConnell has vowed to block any effort to raise the debt ceiling.

2.48pm EDT
14:48

Jen Psaki was asked about Joe Biden’s meetings today with members of Congress to discuss the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the $3.5tn reconciliation package.
One reporter pressed Psaki on whether this marks a “make or break” moment for the two bills, which encompass much of the president’s economic agenda.
The press secretary declined to characterize the meetings in that way, instead saying, “This is an important moment. We are in a pivotal period in our negotiations and discussions.”

2.32pm EDT
14:32

One reporter asked Jen Psaki whether Joe Biden apologized to Emmanuel Macron for how the Aukus deal was announced.
“He acknowledged that there could have been greater consultation,” the White House press secretary said. “There was agreement that we wanted to move forward in our relationship.”

Asked if Biden held national security adviser Jake Sullivan responsible for the dust-up with France, Psaki replied, “He holds himself responsible.”

Updated
at 4.38pm EDT More

Analysis: Joe Biden has cleared the decks to focus on China. But how imminent is the danger?by More

US Congress‘It remains out of reach’: bipartisan talks on US police reform bill collapseNegotiators could not agree on a few crucial issues as talks dragged on for months Joan E Greve in Washington@ More

OpinionJoe BidenThe Guardian view on Biden’s UN speech: cooperation not competitionEditorialThe US president is right to say he does not want a cold war with China Wed 22 Sep 2021 14.10 EDTLast modified on Wed 22 Sep 2021 14.45 EDT“We’re not seeking – say it again, we are not seeking – a new cold war or a world divided into rigid blocs,” President Joe Biden told the United Nations general assembly on Tuesday. That is a relief. Washington’s undeclared opponent is, as almost all observers agree, Beijing. In his address, however, Mr Biden made it clear he is determined to ensure that the rise of China will not mean the decline of the US.The US president said he was willing to “work together with our democratic partners” on breakthroughs in technology which can be “used to lift people up … and advance human freedom – not to suppress dissent or target minority communities”. This is admirable rhetoric, though some sceptics may spy the promotion of US national interests under the guise of a foreign policy that favours democracies. There are also dangers in an overly hawkish prosecution of this approach. Pushing Ukraine’s membership in Nato as a pro-democracy step may bring about a Russian military response. Taiwan’s democracy has to be defended without Washington being pulled into a confrontation with Beijing. The challenges of this era, such as the climate emergency, also require international cooperation to deliver global public goods and prevent beggar-thy-neighbour policies.The problem is twofold. First, Mr Biden seems to see US rivalry with China as a zero-sum game, where one country’s gain is another country’s loss. Second, China’s president, Xi Jinping, has the same view of the US. This has the potential for competition between the two powers to spiral out of control. Mr Biden talks of carefully managing relationships so that they do not tip “from responsible competition to conflict”. His policy is a world away from the cold war strategy of “containment”. But the risks are real. Cooperation is needed to balance competition in world affairs, otherwise nationalism will become even more of a driving force in international affairs.That might explain why Mr Biden had no time for a US-UK trade deal, which would only feed Boris Johnson’s delusions. Brexiters may seek solace in the argument that Mr Biden is anti-free trade, but that neglects his support for a new US-Mexico-Canada deal that included worker and environmental protections. Claiming Britain could sign up to this free trade pact is gathering Brexit crumbs from the US table.New forms of cooperation and coordination are needed in the international arena. Britain’s search for a trade pact that could replace the EU’s market may prove fruitless, but that the country is looking for one underlines what it has lost. Mr Biden, whose formative political years were spent with Kremlin officials on arms control, knows that multilateralism requires working with nations irrespective of their system of government. There can be no reduction in nuclear weapons without deals with autocrats.Mr Biden withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan crystallised two questions: what is the future of US alliances, and what should be done about China? The time for foreign policy crusades is over but the fight goes on against poverty, the pandemic and global heating. With a majority of American voters now favouring diplomacy over military intervention, the US president ought to embrace collective action rather than go-it-alone policies.TopicsJoe BidenOpinionUnited NationsUS politicsChinaBiden administrationBrexitTrade policyeditorialsReuse this content More