Trump pulls US from World Health pandemic reforms
Trump on returning to office on January 20 immediately began his nation's withdrawal from the UN body, but the State Department said the language from last year would still have been binding on the United States.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who is a longtime critic of vaccines, said the changes 'risk unwarranted interference with our national sovereign right to make health policy.'
'We will put Americans first in all our actions and we will not tolerate international policies that infringe on Americans' speech, privacy or personal liberties,' they said in a joint statement.
Rubio and Kennedy disassociated the United States from a series of amendments to the International Health Regulations, which provide a legal framework for combatting diseases, agreed last year at the World Health Assembly in Geneva.
'We regret the US decision to reject the amendments,' WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement posted on X.
He stressed the amendments 'are clear about member states sovereignty,' adding that the WHO cannot mandate lockdowns or similar measures.
The changes included a stated 'commitment to solidarity and equity' in which a new group would study the needs of developing countries in future emergencies.
Countries have until Saturday to lodge reservations about the amendments. Conservative activists and vaccine skeptics in Britain and Australia, which both have left-leaning governments, have waged public campaigns against the changes.
The amendments came about when the Assembly failed at a more ambitious goal of sealing a new global agreement on pandemics.
Most of the world finally secured a treaty this May, but the United States did not participate as it was in the process of withdrawing from the WHO.
The United States, then under president Joe Biden, took part in the May-June 2024 negotiations, but said it could not support consensus as it demanded protections for US intellectual property rights on vaccine development.
Rubio's predecessor Antony Blinken had welcomed the amendments as progress.
In their rejection of the amendments, Rubio and Kennedy said the changes 'fail to adequately address the WHO's susceptibility to the political influence and censorship – most notably from China – during outbreaks.'
WHO's Ghebreyesus said the body is 'impartial and works with all countries to improve people's health.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
30 minutes ago
- Al Arabiya
Republicans seek to rename opera house after US First Lady Melania Trump
Republicans in the US House of Representatives sought Tuesday to rename the opera house in Washington's John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts after First Lady Melania Trump. The Republican-led House Appropriations Committee voted to advance language that would condition funding for Washington's premier cultural institution on the name change as it debated the 2026 budget. Idaho congressman Mike Simpson, who introduced an amendment to call the venue the 'First Lady Melania Trump Opera House,' said it was an 'excellent way to recognize her support and commitment to promoting the arts.' The move marked the latest front in President Donald Trump's hostile takeover of the Kennedy Center, after he fired board members in February and appointed himself chairman, and replaced its longtime president with ally Richard Grenell. Trump, who accused the institution of being too 'woke,' also picked White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino and Second Lady Usha Vance to serve as trustees. The president was met with cheers and boos at the center in June as he attended an opening night performance of hit musical 'Les Miserables.' Republicans have been keen to flatter Trump and help the president cement his legacy in his second term, including by introducing legislation to rename the capital region's Dulles International Airport after him. There have also been efforts in Congress to replace Benjamin Franklin with Trump on the $100 bill, to carve Trump's likeness on the iconic Mount Rushmore, to name a national holiday after him and to reimagine Washington's Metro train service as the Trump Train. The Kennedy Center change was added to legislation principally providing 2026 funding for the Department of the Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency. But the 2,364-seat theater -- the second-largest at the Kennedy Center complex -- would only get its new designation if the change was approved by both chambers of Congress. Republicans hold 53 seats in the Senate and spending bills require 60 votes to pass, meaning Democrats may be able to strip the name change out of the text before any final vote.
Al Arabiya
30 minutes ago
- Al Arabiya
US withdrawal from UNESCO not behavior of ‘responsible country': China
China said it regretted on Wednesday the United States' decision to withdraw from the UN cultural and education agency UNESCO. 'This is not the action that a responsible major country should take,' foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said. 'China has always firmly supported the work of UNESCO,' he added. The United States said on Tuesday it would quit UNESCO, best known for establishing world heritage sites, claiming it was biased against Israel and promoted 'divisive' causes. US President Donald Trump also ordered the country's withdrawal from UNESCO in 2017 during his first term. President Joe Biden later reestablished membership. This latest withdrawal will take effect in December 2026. Since taking office, Trump has indicated he would pull the United States out of several multilateral institutions -- including the World Health Organization and the Paris climate agreement -- and has launched punishing trade tariffs against allies and foes alike. China, meanwhile, has sought to promote itself as a responsible major power by expressing support for the United Nations and other international bodies. 'This is already the third time that the US has withdrawn from UNESCO, and it has long been in arrears with its membership fees,' Guo told reporters Wednesday. 'We call on all countries to reaffirm their commitment to multilateralism and take concrete actions to support the international system with the UN at its core,' he said.
Argaam
30 minutes ago
- Argaam
Trump strikes tariff deal with Japan includes 15% tariff
US President Donald Trump announced a trade agreement with Japan that includes a 15% tariff on Japanese imports from the US, while also reducing tariffs on automobiles to the same level. "I just signed the largest TRADE DEAL in history with Japan," Trump said on his Truth Social platform, adding that Japan will invest $550 billion in the US. Japan will open its country to trade, including cars, trucks, rice, and some recent agricultural products, among others, explaining that the agreement will create hundreds of thousands of jobs. Automotive exports to the US are a cornerstone of the Japanese economy, accounting for 28.3% of total shipments in 2024. This agreement avoids the 25% tariffs Trump threatened to impose on Japanese imports, which were due to take effect next week.
