Trump administration rejects WHO pandemic reforms, citing US sovereignty
The decision comes months after Trump began the process of withdrawing the US from the UN health body upon returning to office in January. Despite the withdrawal, the State Department said language in reforms adopted last year would have remained binding on the United States.
In a joint statement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy said the amendments '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.
DISASSOCIATION FROM PANDEMIC RULES
Rubio and Kennedy said the US was disassociating itself from a series of amendments to the International Health Regulations, which provide the legal foundation for global coordination during disease outbreaks.
The changes, adopted last year by the World Health Assembly in Geneva, included a commitment to 'solidarity and equity' and the creation of a mechanism to assess the needs of developing countries during global health emergencies.
The revisions followed the failure of a broader attempt to agree on a pandemic treaty, which had faced stiff resistance from conservative lawmakers and commentators in the US, Britain, and other countries.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY DISPUTE
While the Biden administration had participated in negotiations, it ultimately did not support the final language, citing concerns over intellectual property protections for US-developed vaccines.
Rubio and Kennedy also criticized the WHO's perceived political vulnerability during public health emergencies.
'The changes fail to adequately address the WHO's susceptibility to the political influence and censorship – most notably from China – during outbreaks,' their statement said.
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