Hyderabad: US President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team is reportedly pushing to pull the US out of the World Health Organisation (WHO) on the first day of the new administration. Trump has been a critic of WHO for its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Experts have warned that the move may have a "catastrophic" impact on global health.
However, there were several instances in Trump's previous tenure, where US withdrew from agreements and international organisations. Here's a timeline of some such incidents:
- Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP): In November 2016, Trump decided to pull out the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which was a plurilateral preferential trade agreement involving 12 Pacific Rim countries such as Canada, Japan, Australia and ASEAN nations. He called it a “bad, bad deal” for America. If the US had continued to remain a part of the TPP, the signatories would have represented roughly 40 per cent of the global GDP.
- Paris Climate Agreement: In June 2017, the US pulled out of the 2015 Paris Climate Deal, which was originally signed by 196 countries, for not being fair. The agreement’s long-term goal was to keep the rise of global temperature below the 2 degree Celsius from pre-industrial levels and ideally keep its below 1.5 degrees. The move was opposed by climate activists in the US and across the world.
- UNESCO: In October 2017, the US announced its decision to withdraw from the UN’s educational, scientific and cultural organisation. It quit UNESCO along with Israel and attacked the agency for its anti-Israel bias. "The U.S. has demanded "fundamental reform" in the agency that is best known for its World Heritage program to protect cultural sites and traditions.
- Global Compact for Migration: In December 2017, the US decided to leave the negotiations on the proposed UN deal for a Global Compact for Migration, “an international agreement on managing safe, orderly, and regular migration around the globe”.
- Iran Nuclear Deal: In May 2018, the Trump administration decided to renege from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, for being too favourable to the Hassan Rouhani regime. The deal was signed by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (UNSC) and Germany and Iran. As a part of the deal, Iran had agreed to not develop nuclear weapons. Since the US move, Iran has agreed to a phased withdrawal from agreement, restarting stockpiling and increasing uranium enrichment.
- UNHRC: In June 2018, the US withdrew from the United Nations Human Rights Council stating that the agency had an anti-Israel bias. The body was set up in 2006 and works towards the promotion and protection of human rights across the world.
- UNRWA: August 2018, The Donald Trump administration announced its decision to end decades of funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in August 2018 for the agency’s alleged anti-Israel bias. While the UNRWA is meant to help refugees across the world, a substantial part of its work was directing towards aiding Palestinian refugees.
- Arms Control Treaties with Russia: Trump has also facilitated US’ withdrawal from several US-Russia arms control treaties such as the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces, with the latest being ‘Open Skies Treaty’. Currently, New START is the only remaining major arms control treaty between the US and Russia. Unless renewed, this treaty is set to collapse next February, and would mean the end of mutual arms cooperation between the two powers.
A few earlier instances of US withdrawal:
- ILO (International Labour Organisation): On November 6, 1977 the USA withdrew from the ILO, which it had joined in 1934 and returned in 1980.
- UNESCO: The United States has walked out of the 195-member organisation once before under ex-president Ronald Reagan, who quit in 1984 over alleged financial mismanagement and claims of anti-US bias in some of its policies.
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