US opts out of signing landmark pandemic agreement

In the official White House statement, it was also stated that WHO continued to ‘demand unfairly onerous payments from the US’ which were disproportionate from other nations’ payments. It then used China’s huge population but lack of contributions to the organisation as an example.

During first under negotiations, there was already strong opposition from Republican governors and conservative groups who argued it would compromise US sovereignty. There were also issues regarding sharing pathogen data as stipulated in the treaty, with the US arguing that it would affect intellectual property rights and hurt American industries.

“The World Health Organization has become nothing more than a corrupt Globalist scam…paid for by the United States, but owned and controlled by China…” -President Trump. It’s OVER for the WHO. pic.twitter.com/xhLvAifysi

— Liz Churchill (@liz_churchill10) November 9, 2024

What is US healthcare without its resident anti-vaxxer, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is also the nation’s Health Secretary. He called WHO ‘moribund’ and argued that it had failed to learn from the pandemic and continues to back dysfunctional systems.

The lack of American presence in the treaty does in fact have its own implications. For starters, the nation loses direct influence over the treaty’s implementation and future pandemic preparedness strategies that are coordinated through WHO.

Moreover, its decisions are also largely influenced by its need to protect domestic pharmaceutical interests and rights, which has only resulted in political opposition to international agreements. This not only limits its role in shaping global health norms and responses, but also reduces the nation’s overall influence on the global stage.

WHO is also impacted, as the US has been a major contributor to its funds. The absence of the US may lead to a funding crisis, weakening the organisation’s capacity to uphold global health efforts, indirectly impacting health security. However, there is an opportunity here for other big economies such as China or Germany to collaborate and reduce that burden.

What’s ironic is that past US presidents would have done everything to ensure that they were global leaders not just in defence, or the economy, but healthcare too. Yet, the Trump administration has strayed from that goal. Perhaps, now is the time for other nations to step up in place of the US and lead the international stage.