It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world; so far, i mean, as we are now at liberty to do it; for let me not be understood as capable of patronizing infidelity to existing engagements. i hold the maxim no less applicable to public than to private affairs, that honesty is always the best policy. i repeat it, therefore, let those engagements be observed in their genuine sense. but, in my opinion, it is unnecessary and would be unwise to extend them. the excerpt above is from george washington's farewell address, which was printed in philadelphia's american daily advertiser on september 19, 1796. what issue was washington addressing in the passage above?

I hope that this helps. Please dun't judge me I'm from Havana Cuba and dun't know much. 
George Washington's Farewell Address is a letter written by first President of the United States George Washington to "The People of the United States of America".
Washington wrote the letter near the end of his second term as President, before his retirement to his home in Mount Vernon. It was originally published in David C. Claypoole's American Daily Advertiser on September 19, 1796 under the title "The Address of General Washington To The People of The United States on his declining of the Presidency of the United States," and it was almost immediately reprinted in newspapers across the country and later in a pamphlet form. Later on, the work was called the "Farewell Address,". It was also Goerge Washington's valedictory after 20 years of service of the presidential to a new nation. It was/is a classic statement of republicanism by warning the Americans of the political dangers that they must avoid if they are to remain true to their values. The first draft/letter was originally prepared in 1792 with the help of James Madison. As Washington prepared his retirement, a following single term that was in office. However when he set aside the letter and ran for a second term after the arguments between his Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton and his Secretary of State, Thomas Jefferson it was which that convinced him that growing divisions would rip apart the country without his help/leadership. Divisions between the newly formed Federalist and Democratic/Republican parties as long with its current state of foreign affairs. I hope this helps.