Story highlights Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations

Washington (CNN) President Donald Trump on Monday will start to unravel the behemoth trade deal he inherited from his predecessor, as he signed an executive action to withdraw from the negotiating process of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

That executive action sends signals to Democrats and leaders in foreign capitals around the world that Trump's rhetoric on trade during the campaign is turning into action. Trump vowed during the campaign to withdraw the US from the Pacific trade deal, commonly known as TPP, which he argued was harmful to American workers and manufacturing.

The TPP was negotiated under former President Barack Obama, but never ratified by Congress, so withdrawing from it will not have an immediate, real effect on US economic policies, although it does signal a new and very different US outlook on trade under Trump.

The other executive actions signed Monday included reinstating the Mexico City abortion rules and instituting a hiring freeze for federal agencies.

Read More </s> In an attempt to counter United States President Donald Trump's orders on Tuesday to halt US funds for global non-governmentals advocating abortions, Netherlands is planning to launch an international fund for abortions.

Trump on Tuesday signed executive orders reinstating the Mexico City Policy on abortion. The Mexico City Policy is a US government policy enacted and rescinded intermittently. The policy requires all foreign NGOs, which receive federal funding to refrain from promoting or performing abortion services as one of the methods of family planning with non-US government funds in other countries.

The Dutch government however has taken the war in its stride and is planning to counter Trump's anti-abortion agenda with a global fund to finance access to birth control and abortion in developing countries. The fund is aimed at providing financial assistance to developing countries and advocating wome's reproductive rights.

The government said that banning abortions is not the answer to fewer abortions as it will only lead to more maternal deaths as women will be forced to follow dangerous practices.

"Banning abortions does not result in fewer abortions. It leads to more irresponsible practices in back rooms and more maternal deaths," Dutch Trade and Development Minister Lilianne Ploumen said in a statement.

"We must not let this happen. We need to compensate for this financial blow as much as possible, with a broad-based fund, where governments, businesses and civil society organisations can donate too - so that women can remain in control of their own bodies," Ploumen added.

The White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer on Tuesday had said, "The president, it's no secret, has made it very clear that he's a pro-life president. He wants to stand up for all Americans, including the unborn, and I think the reinstatement of this policy is not just something that echoes that value, but respects taxpayer funding as well."

Many pro-choice advocates slammed the US president's move and said that he has turned his anti-women rhetoric into policy through this move.

"Donald Trump has turned his anti-women rhetoric into policy, and made it more difficult for women and families all over the world to access vital reproductive care. He really is living up to the lowest of expectations," NARAL Pro-Choice America's president Ilyse Hogue wrote.

According to the estimates of the World Health Organisation, around 22 million women across the world experience unsafe abortions every year, and the majority of these women come from developing countries. </s> President Donald Trump announced a series of executive actions Monday focusing on trade, making good on a core campaign promise.

The actions, signed Monday at the White House, institutes a federal employee hiring freeze, formally withdraws the U.S. from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal and reinstates a GOP-backed policy regarding foreign aid and abortion funding.

Trump noted that his long-promised action to shrink the federal government would not apply to the American military.

Trump's action to nix the TPP trade deal also fulfilled one of his most core campaign promises. The trade agreement, backed by the Obama administration, earned criticism from both Trump and his Democratic foe, Hillary Clinton, during their protracted general election fight. But pro-business groups and many of Trump's Republican allies have voiced support for the deal.

Trump also acted Monday to reinstate the so-named "Mexico City policy" first instituted by Ronald Reagan. That directive essentially barred recipients of U.S. foreign aid from promoting abortion as a method of family planning. In the early days of his presidency, Bill Clinton reversed the Reagan-backed policy; President George W. Bush reinstated it shortly after his election; and President Barack Obama revoked it - each in their first few days as president.

Trump's team has also indicated that he will take executive action soon to jumpstart his promised renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

NAFTA -a trade agreement between the United States, Canada and Mexico that was first enacted in 1994 — was one of Trump's top targets during his presidential campaign.

Earlier on Monday, Trump suggested that companies that move outside of the United States should expect to face "a substantial border tax."

"We want to start making our products again," he said. "We don't want to bring them in, we want to make them here and that doesn't mean we don't trade, because we do trade, but we want to make our products here."

On Friday, Trump announced his first executive order, which pledged to "minimize the economic burden" of Obamacare pending the law's eventual repeal.

This is a developing story. Please refresh for details. </s> In January 2017, President Donald Trump reinstated and expanded a policy that forbids international organizations from using U.S. foreign aid to promote abortion or provide information about abortion as a form of family planning.

The policy, established by President Ronald Reagan in 1984, is commonly referred to as the Mexico City Policy because it was introduced to the International Conference on Population held in Mexico City that year. Critics often refer to it as the “global gag rule.”

Reagan’s policy tightened restrictions on funds distributed through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 already prohibited non-governmental organizations from using federal money to pay for abortions or entice women to have them. Over the years, the Mexico City Policy has been reinstated and rescinded multiple times, depending on the party of the president who is in office.

Despite the controversy and amount of federal funding involved, there is limited published research on the impact of the Mexico City Policy. Journalist’s Resource has pulled together a few academic studies as well as other resources that we hope will be helpful to journalists covering this topic.

“United States Aid Policy and Induced Abortion in Sub-Saharan Africa”

 Bendavid, Eran; Avila, Patrick; Miller, Grant. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 2011. doi: 10.2471/BLT.11.091660.

Summary: Three researchers from Stanford University look at how the reinstatement of the Mexico City Policy in 2001 affected the probability that a woman in sub-Saharan Africa would have an induced abortion. The study, which focuses on 20 countries, suggests the Mexico City Policy is associated with an increase in abortions. “Overall, the induced abortion rate increased significantly from 10.4 per 10,000 woman–years for the period from 1994 to 2001 to 14.5 per 10,000 woman–years for the period from 2001 to 2008 (P = 0.01). Although the trend changed gradually, the timing of the rise is consistent with the reinstatement of the Mexico City Policy in early 2001.”

“Contraceptive Supply and Fertility Outcomes: Evidence from Ghana”

 Jones, Kelly M. Economic Development and Cultural Change, October 2015, Vol. 64. doi: 10.1086/682981.

Summary: The author examines how cuts in U.S. funding for contraceptives affect pregnancy, abortion and births in one nation in sub-Saharan Africa. The study indicates that a smaller supply of contraceptives resulted in a greater number of pregnancies. Among rural women, the use of abortion rose by 2.35 percentage points.
• A 2016 study published in The Lancet, “Abortion Incidence Between 1990 and 2014: Global, Regional, and Subregional Levels and Trends,” finds that abortion rates have fallen globally.
• The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) helps fund a range of international projects aimed at, among other things, improving global health and reducing poverty.
• This 1984 article in Population and Development Review explores the Mexico City Policy.
• The 2009 statement from President Barack Obama on rescinding the Mexico City Policy.
• The 2001 statement from President George W. Bush on restoring the policy.
• The 1993 statement of President Bill Clinton on rescinding it.

We welcome feedback. Please contact us here. </s> Activists have condemned as an “assault on women's health”, a decision by Donald Trump to block US funding for health clinics around the world that provide abortion services.

One of the three executive orders Mr Trump signed on his first Monday morning as president, was to reinstate the so-called Mexico City Policy, a rule originally introduced by Ronald Reagan.

The rule, which was revoked by Barack Obama, forces NGOs to agree to “neither perform nor actively promote abortion as a method of family planning in other nations” as a prerequisite for federal funds. It does not matter if non-US funds are being used for the abortions.

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Activists say the rule threatens to undermine the viability of countless groups that provide healthcare, including contraception and abortion services, to millions of women in the developing world. Campaigners had said ahead of Mr Trump’s inauguration, they feared he would reintroduce the policy as a gift to Vice President Mike Pence, known for his staunch opposition to abortion rights.

The rule, first introduced in 1984, was named for the location of the UN conference on population where it was announced.

Groups that support abortion rights have long opposed the policy and urged politicians not to back. Republican and Democratic presidents have taken turns to impose and rescind the rule.

Bill Clinton revoked it in January 1993 upon taking office, and George W Bush reinstated it when he assuaged the presidency eight years later. Barack Obama most recently rescinded it again in 2009.

Mr Clinton and Mr Bush signed their orders on 22 January, the anniversary of the 1973 landmark Roe v Wade decision.

Mr Trump's press secretary, Sean Spicer, told reporters: "The president has made clear he is a pro-life president. He wants to stand up for all Americans - including the unborn." </s> Fund to support health centres offering abortion services in developing countries after US president cuts NGO financing.

The Netherlands has called for an international fund to support health centres offering abortion services in developing countries, after US President Donald Trump ordered a halt to US government financing.

Trump on Monday signed a decree barring federal funding for foreign NGOs that support abortion, on the eve of the 44th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that legalised the practice in the United States.

The restrictions prohibit foreign non-governmental organisations that receive US family planning assistance from using non-US funding to provide abortion services, information, counselling or referrals.

They are also barred from campaigning to promote abortion.

READ MORE: Trump withdraws US from Trans-Pacific Partnership deal

Lilianne Ploumen, the Dutch minister for foreign trade and development cooperation, said the Netherlands must do everything in its power to offset the ban, so "women can remain in control of their own bodies".

"We have to compensate this financial setback as much as possible with a well-financed fund, in which governments, businesses, and social organisations will be able to donate," Ploumen said in a statement released late on Tuesday.

She added that "banning abortion leads not to fewer abortions, but to more irresponsible practices in back rooms and higher rates of maternal mortality."

Ploumen specifically mentioned Marie Stopes International; an organisation that she said will be greatly affected by the loss of funding.

She said that over the next four years, the loss of funding to Marie Stopes will result in 6.5 million unwanted pregnancies, 2.2 million unsafe abortions, and 21,700 unnecessary deaths of mothers.

Dutch support of women's organisations, she said, has prevented 6 million unwanted pregnancies and half a million abortions.

"The US decision threatens to undermine these results," said Ploumen, adding that she was "very disappointed" by the decision. "We cannot let that happen."

Trump's move came only two days after women led a massive protest march in Washington - with satellite rallies across the country and around the world - to defend their rights, including to abortion. </s> AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The Netherlands is launching a global fund to help women access abortion services to compensate for U.S. President Donald Trump’s ban on U.S. federal funding for foreign groups providing abortions or abortion support for family planning abroad.

Activists take part in a rally to support Polish women protesting against a ban of abortion, in front of the Polish embassy in Kiev, Ukraine, October 3, 2016. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

The Dutch government has held preliminary discussions on the initiative with other European Union members who have responded positively, a foreign ministry spokesman said on Wednesday. Governments outside the EU, companies and social institutions will also be approached to participate.

Trump on Monday reinstated a policy that requires foreign NGOs who receive U.S. global family planning funds to certify that they do not perform abortions or provide abortion advice as a method of family planning.

Dutch officials estimate that Trump’s restrictions will cause a funding shortfall of $600 million over the next four years. Women’s rights and health campaigners have reacted with anger at Trump’s move. They say restrictions on abortion endanger women’s lives. Trump has also pledged to withdraw funding from U.S. domestic abortion services.

The policy was announced on Tuesday by Liliane Ploumen, minister for international development cooperation, whose Labour Party - the junior coalition partner in the government - is traditionally staunchly favour of abortion rights.

The Netherlands’s laws on reproduction and reproductive health are among the world’s most liberal. The Dutch vote in parliamentary elections in March.

Foreign ministry spokesman Herman van Gelderen said he was confident relations with the new U.S. administration would not be damaged by the measure.

“Where decisions are taken that are bad for women in developing countries we should help those women,” he said. “It’s not about the politics, it’s about those women.”

The policy also prohibits U.S. federal assistance for foreign groups that use non-U.S. funds for those abortion services or lobby foreign governments to legalise abortion, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, which looks at U.S. global health policy.

Intermittently implemented by U.S. governments since 1984, Barack Obama lifted the measure at the start of his own presidency in 2009. It does not apply to abortion or abortion advice in cases where a pregnancy is a risk to the life of the mother or has resulted from incest or rape. </s> The Dutch government has pledged to support international organisations working to provide family planning and abortion-related services in developing countries – in reaction to an executive order gagging it by US President Donald Trump.

Minister for foreign trade and development cooperation Lilianne Ploumen announced the plan on 24 January, after Trump re-enacted the Mexico City Policy. It prevents US foreign aid funds reaching overseas non-governmental organisations offering abortion-related services – also known as the global gag rule.

"We need to compensate for this financial blow as much as possible, with a broad-based fund, where governments, businesses and civil society organisations donate to. So that women can remain in control of their own bodies," Ploumen said.

The Dutch minister said she was disappointed by Trump's decision, taken on his third day in office but consistent with the policy of every other Republican president since Ronald Reagan first enacted the policy in 1984. Every Democrat president has repealed the policy on their first days in office.

Ploumen, a politician from the Dutch Labour party PvdA, which rules in a coalition government with the centre-right VVD, said she was concerned about the impact of the policy on women's healthcare and development.

She said: "This has far-reaching consequences. First of all, for all those women who have to make, if they want to have a child, a choice, but also for their husbands and children and society as a whole. Banning abortion does not lead to fewer abortions. It leads to more irresponsible practices in back rooms and more maternal deaths."

Ploumen quoted figures from the organisation Marie Stopes International, one of the organisations that will lose the funding as it refuses to comply with the order, estimating that globally, 14 pregnant women could die each day as a consequence of the abortion-gag order in the next four years.

The organisation also estimates a rise in unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortions, data that was confirmed by an empirical research sanctioned by the World Health Organisation. A 2011 study found the Mexico City policy enactment is associated with increased abortion rates in sub-Saharan African countries. "Our findings suggest that this United States policy may have unrecognised – and unintended – health consequences," the study said.

Ploumen wants her country to support the right to good healthcare for women, including the right to abortion, estimating that the Dutch support for women's organisations prevented more than 6 million unwanted pregnancies and a half a million abortions last year alone.

"The US decision threatens to undermine these results. We must not let this happen," Ploumen said. </s> To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

The international fund will support health centers providing abortion services and related advice in developing countries after Trump shuts U.S. funding.

Donald Trump on Monday reinstated a ban on American federal funding of foreign health care groups who provide or promote abortion in countries that need these services the most.

To avoid the harmful impact Trump's decision will have on health charities across the world, Netherlands has decided to set up an international safe abortion fund so that "women can remain in control of their own bodies."

Lilianne Ploumen, the Dutch minister for foreign trade and development cooperation, said in a statement that "banning abortion leads not to fewer abortions, but to more irresponsible practices in back rooms and higher rates of maternal mortality," reports Al Jazeera.

"We have to compensate this financial setback as much as possible with a well-financed fund, in which governments, businesses, and social organizations will be able to donate," Ploumen added.

Dutch authorities are trying to secure backing from several countries and foundations to create the fund which aims to bridge the $600 million funding gap created by Trump's decision. Netherlands is currently in talks with around 15-12 countries in Europe, Africa and South America along with several organizations to raise the required money for the fund, reports The Guardian.

The fund will be used to back existing programs being run by organizations such as the United Nations Population Fund (UNPFA), the International Planned Parenting Federation and Marie Stopes International.

Ploumen reiterates the importance of the venture saying that if the funding to Marie Stopes International is stopped, that alone will result in 6.5 million unwanted pregnancies, 2.2 million unsafe abortions, and 21,700 unnecessary deaths of mothers over the next four years.

Trump signed the controversial "Mexico City Policy" into effect in his first week as President and only two days after widespread women's rights protests were held not only in the U.S., but in major cities across the globe.

Dutch officials remain confident that the planned fund will not damage their relations with the new U.S. administration. "Where decisions are taken that are bad for women in developing countries we should help those women," Herman van Gelderen, spokesman for the Dutch Foreign Ministry told Reuters. "It's not about the politics, it's about those women."

Meanwhile, Ploumen is confident that the plan will continue to receive support despite her country's upcoming elections. "The Netherlands has a long tradition of standing up for sexual and reproductive rights. I don't see that being a problem," she said. </s> Donald Trump has issued a video outlining his policy plans for his first 100 days in office and vowing to issue a note of intent to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

In the brief clip posted to YouTube on Monday, the president-elect said that “our transition team is working very smoothly, efficiently, and effectively”, contradicting a wealth of media reports telling of chaos in Trump Tower as Trump struggles to build a team.

He said that he was going to issue a note of intent to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal and instead “negotiate fair bilateral trade deals that bring jobs and industry back”, and cancel restrictions on the production of shale gas and “clean coal”.

The president-elect promised to form a rule “that says for every one new regulation, two old regulations must be eliminated”, and said that he would ask the Department of Defense and the joint chiefs of staff to “develop a comprehensive plan to protect our vital infrastructure from cyberattacks and all other form of attacks”.

Turning to immigration, he promised to direct the Department of Labor to investigate abuses of visa programs “that undercut the American worker”, and he also promised to impose a five-year ban on executive officials becoming lobbyists after they leave office and a “lifetime ban on executive officials lobbying for foreign governments”.

He did not appear to acknowledge the fact that his transition team is full of lobbyists, according to reports by Politico, including Cindy Hayden, of tobacco firm Altria, who is in charge of Trump’s homeland security team and Michael Torrey, in charge of the Department of Agriculture on the transition team, who has his own lobbying firm representing the American Beverage Association.

Also absent from the address were a number of Trump’s key campaign pledges, including his core promise to build a wall along the US-Mexico border and “make Mexico pay for it.”

Nor was there any mention of a ban on Muslims or a registry for Muslim-Americans, though an advisor to Trump, Kris Kobach, accidentally showed a paper to photographers as he entered a meeting on Monday which contained policy proposals for a registry of Muslim immigrants and what appeared to be plans for a border wall on it.
U.S. President Donald Trump issues executive orders to withdraw the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and reinstates the Mexico City Policy, a policy banning U.S. aid to foreign organizations that use funds from other sources to perform or discuss abortions, which Barack Obama scrapped in 2009.