Macron uses UN speech to rebuke Trump's nationalism
September 26, 2018
President Macron urged leaders to reject "the law of the most powerful," in what was seen as a veiled rebuke of the US. He also stressed the need for dialogue with Iran, which Trump accused of having a "blood agenda."
Image: Reuters/C. Allegri
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French President Emmanuel Macron drew loud applause from the UN General Assembly chamber on Tuesday, after he gave an impassioned plea for continued multilateralism and blasted the isolationist politics of the US.
While he admitted that there was growing skepticism towards international bodies such as the European Union and UN, Macron warned that "Nationalism always leads to defeat."
Macron took to the podium after US President Donald Trump had earlier vowed to never surrender American sovereignty from "unelected, unaccountable global bureaucracy" and condemned the Iranian regime for having a "blood agenda" in Yemen and Syria.
Macron: 'We are being pushed around by the unilateral decisions of our US allies'
Macron warned that Trump's isolationist policies, particularly towards Iran, only raised the potential threat of conflict.
Unilateralism leads "directly to isolation and conflict ... to the detriment of everyone, even in the end those who thought they were strongest," he declared. "The law of the jungle does not protect any people against any threat whatsoever, whether chemical or nuclear."
US aggravating tensions in Iran, Middle East
Macron also called for "dialogue and multilateralism" in dealing with issues concerning Iran, saying that the Iran nuclear accord had helped to curb Tehran's nuclear program.
"What will bring a real solution to the situation in Iran and what has already stabilized it? The law of the strongest? Pressure from only one side? No!" he said. "We know that Iran was on a nuclear military path but what stopped it? The 2015 Vienna accord."
Macron solidifies his position as de facto leader in the fight against climate change
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The French president also suggested that Iran should be allowed to sell its oil on global markets. This, he pointed out, would go some way in solving Trump's irritations over the rising oil price.
No trade deals for those outside the Paris climate agreement
Macron also touched on climate change and launched a veiled attack on the US' decision last year to withdraw from the Paris climate pact.
The French president warned that future trade deals could be contingent on membership in the climate agreement — a move clearly designed to put pressure on the US to reconsider its decision to quit the accord.
"Even those who contest the reality" of climate change "are suffering its consequences like everyone else," he told the assembly.
Donald Trump: deal-breaker abroad and at home
The US President prides himself on being a hard-nosed dealmaker, but since entering the White House, Donald Trump has proven himself to be skilled in the art of tearing up agreements. DW takes a look at deals undone.
Image: picture-alliance/NurPhoto/C. May
Iran nuclear deal
The "worst deal ever": That's how Donald Trump described the 2015 landmark agreement that lifted international sanctions against Iran in exchange for the country dismantling its atomic program. In May 2018 the president followed through on a campaign promise and said he would withdraw the US from the deal, which had arisen out of painstaking multi-year negotiations.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/S. Loeb
Trans-Pacific Partnership
In February 2016 then-US President Barack Obama signed the free trade agreement known as the TPP along with 11 other Pacific nations. However, it never went into effect: Shortly after taking office, Trump signed an executive order that took the US out of the deal, thus keeping it from entering into force. The scuttled TPP evolved into a new regional trade partnership — without the US.
Image: picture alliance/Newscom/R. Sachs
Paris Agreement
The Paris climate accord was adopted in December 2015 after the COP 21 meeting. All 195 participating member states and the EU agreed to reduce emissions, decrease carbon output and try to rein in global warming. The US signed the accord but support was short-lived: in November 2017 Trump told the UN that the US would withdrawal from the accord at the earliest possible date, November 2019.
Image: picture-alliance/AP/dpa/A. Harnik
Domestic environmental regulations
Trump not only has undone US participation in international climate deals but also has scrapped domestic environmental regulations. Scott Pruit, Trump's head of the Environmental Protection Agency, announced in March 2018 that Obama-era vehicle emissions standards would be rolled back. And at the very start of his term, Trump also said he would review the Clean Water Act and Clean Power Plan.
Image: picture-alliance/ZUMAPRESS.com
Affordable Care Act
The ACA, nicknamed "Obamacare," was landmark legislation that roughly halved the number of medically uninsured Americans through program expansion and insurance mandates. Its critics, Trump among them, described it as federal government overreach that would cause skyrocketing health costs for individuals. While total repeal has failed, Republicans did do away with the mandate in 2017 tax reform.
