EXCITING NEWS: TNG WhatsApp Channel is LIVE…
Subscribe for FREE to get LIVE NEWS UPDATE. Click here to subscribe!
Newly inaugurated President of the United States of America (USA), Donald John Trump, has today signed three (3) executive orders, with one of the orders blocking foreign aid or federal funding for international nongovernmental organizations that provide or promote abortions.
Donald Trump was inaugurated the 45th President of the US on Friday after crippling Hillary Clinton in the US elections that held in November 2016. In his election campaign, trump had vowed to kick out many policies of out gone President Barack Obama.
After meeting with business executives to discuss the US manufacturing industry, Trump headed to the Oval Office, where he signed the executive order formally putting an end to the promotion and payment for abortion by NGOs.
The so-called Mexico City policy, established by Republican President Ronald Reagan in 1984, blocks federal funding for international family planning charities that provide abortions or promote the procedure by providing patients with information about it, including by offering referrals to abortion providers.
The policy has been subjected to a game of political football over the years, with Democratic presidents rescinding the policy once in office and Republican presidents then reinstating it.
President Obama rescinded the policy when he took office in 2009.
Trump’s ban, which comes one day after the 44th anniversary of the Roe V. Wade Supreme Court ruling that made abortion legal, could impact foreign organizations like the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPFF), which provides family planning services in more than 180 countries.
President Trump also signed two other executive orders with one withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and the other imposing federal hiring freeze with exception of the military and executive.
Analysts have said that the TPP order could point to contentious negotiations over the North American Free Trade Agreement down the road.
Trump repeatedly promised to reopen the 22-year-old deal with Mexico and Canada while on the campaign trail, and in brief remarks Monday he reiterated his threat to punish US companies that build factories abroad.
“What we want is fair trade,” Trump said during his meeting with executives. “And we’re going to treat countries fairly, but they have to treat us fairly,” he added
Among the business leaders Trump met with Monday was Dow Chemical Chief Executive, Andrew Liveris, who said the president tasked the executives to return in 30 days with a plan to shore up the manufacturing industry.
He said there was extensive discussion of Trump’s threat to impose border tax on US companies that build factories in other countries and ship the goods back home – a proposal that is shaping up to be a centerpiece of Trump’s trade policy.
“I would take the president at his word here,” Liveris said, adding that “He’s not going to do anything to harm competitiveness. He’s going to actually make us all more competitive”.