Following the example set by Donald Trump, President Javier Milei is considering whether to withdraw Argentina from at least three top multilateral organisations.
Milei, 54, and his closest advisers are assessing the possibility of withdrawing from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Paris Agreement, government sources confirmed Thursday.
In an interview earlier this week, Milei also suggested that he would leave the Mercosur regional trade bloc if its members were to prevent Argentina from signing a free-trade deal with the United States, as its rules currently do.
Any such moves would be a major reconfiguration of Argentina’s foreign policy and, in the case of the WHO and Paris accords, could strain relations with its key European partners.
Leaving Mercosur would seriously affect ties with nations across the region, not least Brazil, Argentina’s key trade partner.
Government sources state that the intention is “to seize the momentum of Trump’s victory to regain sovereignty” – a reference to a similar goal outlined by the new US president, who was inaugurated at a ceremony in Washington with Milei watching on.
Hours after taking office on Monday, Trump signed an executive order directing the US to begin withdrawing from the WHO. He has previously criticised the UN agency for its handling of the Covid-19 crisis and claimed that the US is being “ripped off” by it.
The UN health agency expressed disappointment over the decision. The withdrawal could leave global health initiatives short of funding. This is the second time Trump has sought to sever ties with the WHO.
"WHO plays a crucial role in protecting the health and security of the world's people," said its spokesman Tarik Jasarevic.
Argentina, according to Milei’s team, is now evaluating its own future too. Officials consider the institutions to be ineffective, with insiders telling the Noticias Argentinas news agency that such bodies should be considered as “failures that do not serve the purpose for which these organisations were created.”
Milei repeated as much in his keynote speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday.
There is a consensus among many of the leaders of the so-called “global right” about “mismanagement” of the Covid-19 crisis.
Any attempt to dump the Paris climate accords would be complicated by Milei having to go through Congress.
The President has long questioned the scientific evidence about climate change and ordered the withdrawal of Argentina's delegation at the COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan.
The list of organisations under scrutiny also includes the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and Mercosur, the latter mostly due to Milei’s aspirations of sealing a free-trade agreement with the United States.
However, in an interview with Bloomberg at Davos on Wednesday, Milei said that he hopes a free-trade deal with Trump can be “achieved without having to abandon what we already have in Mercosur.”
Argentina’s President has also been highly critical of the United Nations in the past. However, rather than a complete break, it seems that the approach to the UN will be to highlight differences and consider withdrawing from some of its multilateral bodies and committees.
– TIMES/NA
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