Palau lawmakers reject US request to accept third country refugees
Palau's national congress wrote to President Surangel Whipps Jr. earlier this month urging him to reject the request by the Trump Administration.
A letter signed by Senate President Hokkon Boules and House of Delegates speaker Gibson Kanai, viewed by Reuters, said the congress strongly supports Palau's partnership with the United States, but 'cannot accept this specific proposal'.
Palau, with a population of 17,000, has a compact of free association with the United States providing economic assistance in return for allowing the US military access to its territory.
'We advise against proceeding further on this matter only because of the practical issues that the introduction of refugees would raise in our society,' said the letter, dated July 21.
Whipps Jr. briefed Palau's national congress and council of chiefs about the request on July 18, the Palau president's office said in a statement at the time.
The proposed agreement gave Palau the right to accept or decline each individual referred by the US, the office said.
The US Ambassador to Palau, Joel Ehrendreich told the meeting Palau would not be a processing centre like Nauru under Australia's offshore asylum policy, but would be considered a 'safe third country', and financial assistance would be offered, Palau's Island Times reported.
Whipps Jr. is in Washington for annual talks about economic assistance, his office said.
'We anticipate there will be additional discussion held with local leadership,' a spokeswoman told Reuters.
Palau was one of the few states to avoid any US tariffs in April.
On July 15, the United States said a deportation flight from the US carrying immigrants from different countries landed in Eswatini in southern Africa, a move that followed the US Supreme Court lifting limits on the Trump Administration's policy to deport migrants to third countries.
Palau is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention.
A spokeswoman for the US Embassy in Palau said it had no comment on the letter.
Human rights advocates have raised due process and other concerns over Trump's immigration policies that his administration has cast as measures aimed at improving domestic security. — Reuters
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Free Malaysia Today
36 minutes ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Trump says Canada's Palestine statehood stance may hurt trade deal
Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney said that Canada plans to recognise the State of Palestine at a UN meeting in September. (AP pic) WASHINGTON : US President Donald Trump said today that it will be difficult to make a trade deal with Canada after the country announced it is backing Palestinian statehood. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Carney announced yesterday that Canada is planning to recognise the State of Palestine at a meeting of the UN in September. Canada's announcement follows France and Britain in recognising a Palestinian state. Israel and its closest ally, the US, both rejected Carney's statements. Canada and the US are working on negotiating a trade deal by Aug 1, the date Trump is threatening to impose a 35% tariff on all Canadian goods not covered by the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement. Carney said yesterday that tariff negotiations with the US President Donald Trump's administration have been constructive, but the talks may not conclude by the deadline.
Free Malaysia Today
40 minutes ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Trump issues blitz of tariff announcements
The tax-and-spending bill signed by US President Donald Trump repealed the legal basis for the de minimis exemption worldwide starting on July 1, 2027. (AP pic) WASHINGTON : US President Donald Trump yesterday issued a blitz of tariff announcements ranging from changes to previously threatened levies on imports of copper, goods from Brazil and South Korea, to ending an exemption from tariffs for small-value shipments from overseas. The wave of announcements came as the clock ticked down toward an Aug 1 deadline for higher US tariff rates, as Trump presses on with his bid to reshape global trade. Capping a day that began with Trump announcing a 25% tariff rate on goods from India, after months of negotiations between Washington and New Delhi failed to produce a trade deal, Trump said a 50% tariff on copper pipes and wiring would kick in tomorrow. Trump plans to sign new executive orders today imposing higher tariff rates on several countries that have been unable to reach negotiated trade deals with the US, Politico reported, citing a White House official. Details of the copper levy fell short of the sweeping restrictions expected and left out copper input materials such as ores, concentrates and cathodes. The surprise move dragged down US copper prices more than 17% on the Comex exchange HGc2 and unwound a premium over the London global benchmark that had grown in recent weeks, with shipments diverted there in anticipation of higher domestic prices. 'Markets are now busily repricing refined copper much lower after Trump's epic backflip on his own import tariff policy,' said Tom Price, an analyst at the London brokerage Panmure Liberum. 'Someone must have finally got through to (Trump) that the US economy simply can't afford this new trade-hit,' Price said. Trump first teased the copper tariff in early July, implying that it would apply to all types of the red metal, ranging from cathodes produced by mines and smelters to wiring and other finished products. Yet the proclamation released by the White House said the tariff will apply only to pipes, tubes and other semi-finished copper products, as well as products that copper is heavily used to manufacture, including cable and electrical components. The move aids manufacturers, but does little to boost the constrained US copper mining industry, which for years has asked Washington for permitting reform or other steps that could fuel growth. The move is essentially a boost for Chile and Peru, two of the world's largest copper miners and major suppliers to the US. Brazil 'not worst-case scenario' Yesterday, Trump slapped a 50% tariff on most Brazilian goods to fight what he has called a 'witch hunt' against former president Jair Bolsonaro, but softened the blow by excluding sectors such as aircraft, energy and orange juice from the heavier levies. That came as a relief for many in Brasilia, who since Trump announced the tariffs had been urging protections for major exporters caught in the crossfire. Shares of planemaker Embraer and pulpmaker Suzano rose. 'We're not facing the worst-case scenario,' Brazilian Treasury Secretary Rogerio Ceron told reporters. 'It's a more benign outcome than it could have been.' The new tariffs will go into effect on Aug 6, not Aug 1 as Trump announced originally. South Korea 'shipbuilding deal' Trump also announced the US will charge a 15% tariff on imports from South Korea as part of a deal that eases, for now, tension with a top-10 trading partner and key Asian ally. Imports from South Korea, a powerhouse exporter of computer chips, cars and steel, had faced a 25% rate. 'I am pleased to announce that the US of America has agreed to a full and complete trade deal with the Republic of Korea,' Trump wrote on Truth Social, shortly after he met with South Korean officials at the White House. Trump said Seoul had agreed to invest US$350 billion in the US in projects selected by him and to purchase US$100 billion of liquefied natural gas and other energy products. South Korean finance minister Koo Yoon-cheol said today that a shipbuilding partnership package dubbed 'Make America Shipbuilding Great Again' was key to the tariffs agreement. The shipbuilding partnership worth about US$150 billion will be led by South Korean shipbuilders to rebuild the US shipbuilding industry, Koo said. The other US$200 billion would include funds for chips, nuclear power, batteries, and biologics, Kim Yong-beom, policy chief from the South Korean presidential office, told a briefing. US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick said on X that the South Korean energy purchases would take place 'over the next 3.5 years'. 'De minimis' The White House also said the US is suspending a 'de minimis' exemption that allowed low-value commercial shipments to be shipped to the US without tariffs. 'Under Trump's order, packages valued at or under US$800 sent to the US outside of the international postal network will now face 'all applicable duties' starting on Aug 29,' the White House said. Trump earlier targeted packages from China and Hong Kong. The tax-and-spending bill recently signed by Trump repealed the legal basis for the de minimis exemption worldwide starting on July 1, 2027. Goods shipped through the postal system will face one of two tariffs: either an 'ad valorem duty' equal to the effective tariff rate of the package's country of origin or, for six months, a specific tariff of US$80 to US$200 depending on the country of origin's tariff rate.
Malay Mail
5 hours ago
- Malay Mail
Epstein files fight heats up: Democrats use century-old law to demand answers
WASHINGTON, July 31 — Democrats moved Wednesday to force Donald Trump to release files from the investigation into notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, invoking an obscure law to keep up the pressure on an issue that has roiled the US president's administration. The White House has been facing increasingly intense demands to be more transparent about the case of the disgraced financier, who died in federal prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. The president raised further questions about his past relationship with Epstein on Tuesday when he told reporters he fell out with his former friend after he 'stole' female employees from the spa at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. The Justice Department angered Trump supporters earlier this month when it confirmed that Epstein had died by suicide and had no secret 'client list' — rebuffing conspiracy theories held by Trump's far-right supporters about supposedly high-level Democratic complicity. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and the Democrats on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee wrote to the Justice Department asking for the materials under a section of federal law known as the 'rule of five.' 'The public has a right to know who enabled, knew of, or participated in one of the most heinous sex trafficking operations in history,' Schumer told reporters at the Capitol. 'Let me remind everyone of what's happened in recent months. Donald Trump campaigned on releasing the Epstein files. He broke that promise.' The measure — introduced a century ago but rarely used — requires government departments to provide relevant information if any five members of the Senate's chief watchdog panel request it. Republicans divided It is not clear if it could be enforced in court, but even if the effort fails it keeps the spotlight on an issue that has upended Trump's summer, dividing Republicans and leading to the early closure of the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. Trump has urged his supporters to drop demands for the Epstein files, but Democrats in Congress — with limited Republican support — have also been seeking a floor vote to force their release. House Oversight Committee Democrats, backed by some Republicans, approved a subpoena last week for the Justice Department to hand over the documents, although the demand has yet to be sent. Lawmakers have also been seeking testimony from Epstein's accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving 20 years in prison for her role in his alleged crimes. Maxwell's lawyer has said she would speak to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee if granted immunity for her testimony. 'The Oversight Committee will respond to Ms Maxwell's attorney soon, but it will not consider granting congressional immunity for her testimony,' a spokesman for the panel said. Democrats have tried to attach votes on the Epstein files to unrelated bills multiple times, prompting Speaker Mike Johnson to send lawmakers home for the summer a day early last week, shutting down the efforts. Senate Democrats launched a separate effort to get the files released via a bill called the Epstein Files Transparency Act, but this cannot even be taken up until the House reconvenes in September. Meanwhile the Supreme Court's justices are expected to consider at a September 29 conference ahead of their October term whether to hear an appeal by Maxwell of her sex trafficking conviction. 'This crime by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell was not a victimless crime…. It was about exploiting women, in fact, girls — girls who were mercilessly and repeatedly subject to abuse and trafficking,' said Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut. — Reuters
