The government of Javier Milei in Argentina is considering the possibility of reviewing the country's membership in multinational organizations following the victory of Republican Donald Trump in the United States. In this regard, the idea of withdrawing from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Paris Agreement is proposed with the aim of regaining sovereignty, sharing the criticisms expressed by the American president towards these organizations.
A high-ranking source in the Argentine government argued that the review of membership in these organizations is due to their belief that they do not adequately fulfill their original function. Although the idea is not new, the backing from Trump's victory and recent announcements give Milei's government the necessary impetus to study this possibility, also analyzing the legal implications that a potential exit would entail.
The poor management of the WHO during the COVID-19 pandemic has also been pointed out by Trump, and from Milei's circle, there are mentions of intentions to investigate actions taken during the quarantine. Although the decision to withdraw from these organizations is not made, the possibility of leaving the World Trade Organization (WTO) and Mercosur is also being evaluated, as they hinder closing a free trade agreement with the United States.
Despite the harsh criticisms towards the United Nations Organization, Casa Rosada acknowledges its global importance, preferring to highlight the differences and, if necessary, withdrawing from a multilateral organization instead of the UN. In recent statements, Milei confirmed the possibility of abandoning Mercosur as an extreme condition to expand trade relations with other countries, although he seeks to maintain current trade relations within the regional bloc.
In this sense, Milei expressed that they aim to explore Argentina's openness to international trade as they believe that the division of labor brings prosperity, and that it is possible to achieve this without necessarily having to abandon what is already in place in terms of regional agreements like Mercosur.
