• @simplicissimus
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    Exclusive: White House weighs tightening U.S. food aid shipping rules - sources | Reuters
    ▻https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-aid-exclusive-idUSKBN19K33S

    President Donald Trump’s administration is preparing an executive order that will require all U.S. food aid to be transported on American ships, according to four sources with knowledge of the deliberations.

    Currently, 50 percent of such aid must be transported on U.S.-flagged vessels. The sources said Trump is considering going as far as doubling that to 100 percent, a move likely to stir opposition from both Republicans and Democrats.
    […]
    Although unlikely to have any significant effect on the $4 trillion global cargo shipping industry, the initiative touted as part of Trump’s “#America_First” platform may slow food aid getting to millions of people and do little to create jobs, critics said.

    Aid groups, and members of Congress from both parties have been working for years to lower, or eliminate, the 50 percent shipping requirement. The United States, the world’s largest provider of humanitarian assistance, spent about $2.8 billion on foreign food aid in 2016. About half of that is estimated to go to shipping and storage.

    The conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute said in a November report that shipping food aid on U.S.-flagged vessels costs 46 percent more than aid shipped at internationally competitive rates and can take as much as 14 weeks longer.

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    • @simplicissimus
      Simplicissimus

      Contre-ordre…

      Exclusive : Trump Drops Plans for Order Tightening Food Aid Shipping Rules-Sources - The New York Times
      ▻https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2017/06/30/us/politics/30reuters-usa-trump-aid.html

      Senator Bob Corker, the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, stopped short of confirming information about the order but said he had discussed the issue with Trump and that he understands that the shift would have increased the cost of food aid and caused more people to starve.

      “I had a good conversation today with President Trump,” Corker said in a statement emailed to Reuters.

      “As a businessman, he understands that expanding the cargo preference would substantially drive up the cost of food aid and cause more people to starve around the world,” Corker said.

      Il faut dire que R. P. Corker Jr milite depuis longtemps pour la suppression de l’obligation existante de transport sous pavillon états-unien de 50% de l’aide alimentaire.

      Quant aux motivations…

      Corker has been pushing for years to reform the U.S. food aid program, including by eliminating the cargo preference. He said in his statement he looked forward to working with Congress and the administration to achieve “long overdue reforms.”

      After hearing about the possible executive order, several members of Congress called the White House to express their concern, congressional aides said.

      The administration’s budget proposal has suggested slashing foreign aid in general while increasing defense spending.

      That plan was also met with stiff opposition in Congress, as lawmakers argued that “#soft_power” options such as food and medical aid and disaster recovery assistance can be effective tools in foreign policy that should not be discounted.

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