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Weeks after ordering all Food and Drug Administration employees back into the office, the agency is reversing course, allowing some of its most prized staffers to work remotely amid worries that recent layoffs and resignations could jeopardize basic functions, like approving new medicines. An internal email obtained by The Associated Press states that FDA leadership are allowing review staff and supervisors to resume telework at least two days a week. The policy shift was confirmed by three FDA staffers who spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal agency matters. The message was sent Tuesday to some of FDAs hundreds of drug reviewers. Staffers said a similar policy was communicated to reviewers who handle vaccines, biotech drugs, medical devices and tobacco products although not necessarily in writing. Its the latest example of the Trump administrations chaotic approach to overhauling the federal health workforce, which has included firings, a scramble to rehire some employees, and then additional layoffs last week of an estimated 3,400 staffers, or more than 15% of the agencys workforce. When FDA employees were called back to the agency’s headquarters last month they confronted overflowing parking lots, crowded offices and broken or missing supplies. A spokeswoman for Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the administration is returning to pre-COVID telework arrangements for reviewers, whose read and write work output is tracked in 15-minute increments to ensure productivity and accountability. While many agencies switched to telework during the pandemic, the FDA began embracing the practice a decade earlier. The flexibility was seen as a competitive perk for recruiting employees who can often earn more working in industry. Last week’s cuts included entire offices focusing on FDA policy and regulations, most of the agencys communication staff and teams that support food inspectors and investigators. Senior officials overseeing tobacco, new drugs, vaccines and other products have also been dismissed or forced to resign. Staffers have described rank-and-file employees pouring out of the agency. Former FDA Commissioner Dr. David Kessler called the cuts “devastating, haphazard, thoughtless and chaotic” during a House hearing on Wednesday. When Kennedy announced plans to eliminate 10,000 staffers across the federal health workforce, he noted out that FDA medical reviewers and safety inspectors wouldn’t be impacted. In February, HHS was forced to recall some probationary employees who were fired, including hundreds of medical reviewers at FDA, who are largely funded by industry fees, not federal dollars. But last weeks cuts combined with resignations and retirements have raised a new threat: that FDA funding could fall so low that it short circuits a long-standing system in which companies help fund much of the agency’s operations. Nearly half the FDA’s $7 billion budget comes from fees collected from drug, device and tobacco companies. The agency uses the money to hire thousands of staffers to quickly and efficiently review new products. For example, about 70% of the FDAs drug program is financed by user-fee agreements, which must be reauthorized by Congress every five years. But the agreements stipulate that if FDAs federal funding falls below set levels, companies are no longer required to pay and, in some cases, can claw back their money. The threshold requirements are designed to ensure Congress continues funding FDA, rather than relying entirely on the private sector. FDA and industry groups are supposed to begin negotiations later this year to renew several user-fee agreements, including those for drugs and devices. I dont think the agency nor regulated industry can afford for user fees not to be reauthorized, said Michael Gaba, an attorney who advises FDA-regulated companies. Whatever the reasoning behind the telework shift, former federal officials say its a sign that recently confirmed FDA Commissioner Marty Makary is trying to retain and rebuild agency staffing. Makary made his first appearance at FDA’s headquarters last Wednesday, one day after the mass layoffs. According to the memo obtained by the AP, Makary signed off on the return to telework for some employees. Dr. Makary needs to rebuild teams and restart the engine of productivity lost to weeks of job insecurity, uncertainty and shortages of team members, said Steven Grossman, a former HHS official. Turning commuting time back into work time is a great first step in achieving both. The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Matthew Perrone, AP health writer
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E-Commerce
Morocco‘s social security agency said troves of data were stolen from its systems in a cyberattack this week that resulted in personal information being leaked on the messaging app Telegram. The North African kingdoms social security fund administers pensions and insurance benefits to millions of private sector workers, from assembly line laborers to corporate executives. It said in a statement Wednesday that preliminary investigations suggest the leak resulted from hackers bypassing its security systems. The agency did not say who was thought to be responsible for the leak while also claiming that many of the documents posted were misleading, inaccurate, or incomplete. The hackers who posted the documents on Telegram said the attack was in response to alleged Moroccan harassment of Algeria on social media platforms, pledging additional cyberattacks if Algerian sites were targeted. Moroccan media have attributed the attack to Algerian hackers, describing it as an episode in a larger cyberwar between the two countries. Relations between Algeria and Morocco have recently deteriorated to historic lows. The countries have withdrawn their ambassadors, closed their embassies and respective airspaces. Algeria’s support for the Polisario Front, a pro-independence movement fighting Morocco over the disputed Western Sahara, is among the roots of the tensions. Some of the leaked information touches on deeply sensitive issues in Morocco. Among the leaked documents is salary information that, if accurate, would reflect vast inequalities that continue to plague Morocco despite its strides in economic development. The trove includes unverified financial data on executives of state-owned companies, political parties, figures associated with the royal family’s holding company and charity fund, and the Israeli liaison office in Rabat. Morocco’s National Commission for the Protection of Personal Data said on Thursday that it stood ready to investigate complaints from people targeted in the leak. Mustapha Baitas, Moroccos government spokesperson, linked the attack to what he said was growing support for Morocco in the conflict from the international community something he said disturbs the enemies of our country to the point of attempting to harm it through these hostile actions. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier this week said he supported Moroccos plan for the disputed territory, a statement Algeria criticized on Thursday. During his first term in office, President Donald Trump shifted Washington’s longstanding position in 2020 to back Moroccos sovereignty over the territory. President Joe Bidens administration neither reversed nor openly supported the policy. Sam Metz, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
African nations that faced some of the steepest reciprocal tariffs from the Trump administration were given a moment of relief Thursday by the suspension of the duties, only for new uncertainties to hang over key businesses sending clothing and textiles, vanilla and fruit to the United States. Lesotho, Madagascar and South Africa were threatened with some of the highest tariff rates under U.S. President Donald Trumps plan. Lesotho, a tiny mountain kingdom, was stunned by the 50% duties that were due to come into effect Wednesday before Trump announced a 90-day pause on the levies. It was the second highest tariff rate after China. This will give us the opportunity to negotiate the reduction of tariffs so that the playing field is levelled, Lesotho Trade and Industry Minister Mokhethi Shelile said in response to the suspension. Its a serious issue for us, but we are tackling it head-on. Many like Lesotho had already sent trade delegations to Washington or were willing to negotiate, with some of their most important industries and tens of thousands of jobs hinging on the outcome. Lesotho makes American clothing brands Nearly half of Lesothos 30,000 clothing and textile workers depend on jobs making apparel for American brands like Levis, Nike, Reebok and others, which are exported to the U.S. Clothing and textiles is the biggest private employer in the country of just 2.3 million people. Lesothos most pressing problem is that regional competitors like Kenya and Eswatini had been assigned much lower tariffs for their exports some as much as 40% lower. Officials warned that the competitive disadvantage would likely shut down more than a dozen Lesotho factories and eliminate more than 12,000 jobs unless they can significantly reduce their 50% tariff rate in negotiations. The problem arises when countries like Eswatini receive a 10% tariff while were hit with 50%. These are the very countries we compete against, Shelile said. Lesothos clothing industry had braced itself for the 50% tariffs this week, with some saying it was the sector’s worst time since the COVID-19 pandemic. I dont fully understand whats happening, but I heard on the radio that our jobs are at risk, said machine operator Mareitumetse Lesia, who was on a lunch break during a nine-hour shift stitching together Levis jeans in one factory. I hope its not true. I know what its like to have nothing to eat. The world’s biggest vanilla producer In Madagascar, which produces 80% of the worlds vanilla, that industry felt better as soon as the tariffs suspension was confirmed, said Georges Geeraerts, the president of the Madagascar Vanilla Exporters Group. Madagascar had faced 47% duties on exports to the U.S. But there were other complications. Exporters were now rushing their vanilla to the U.S. by far Madagascars biggest market in the hope that it would arrive while tariffs are still suspended. Cargo ships take 70-90 days to reach the U.S. from the Indian Ocean island and exporters didnt know what duties might be imposed when the product got there given the abrupt changes in policy by the Trump administration. All our American customers have been asking us since this morning to load the vanilla onto the cargo ships, so that we can meet the deadlines, said one exporter, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly about the orders. A 25-year-old trade agreement facing termination South Africas citrus industry said the original 30% tariffs for its country had threatened 35,000 jobs and the economies of entire towns that are geared to exporting oranges and other citrus fruits to the U.S. when they are out of season in North America. The suspension of the reciprocal tariffs gave South Africa’s biggest agricultural export breathing space, said Citrus Growers’ Association of Southern Africa CEO Boisthoko Ntshabele. But they also faced the new reality that the first citrus fruit of the year going to the U.S. this week from South Africa would be taxed at the 10% across the board tariff the U.S. has kept in place still a significant blow, though less severe than the 30% duties initially announced. South African citrus had previously been given tariff-free access to the U.S. under the 25-year-old African Growth and Opportunity Act that benefits dozens of African nations. Many fear that agreement will not be renewed when it expires in September. South African Trade Minister Parks Tau said it would be very difficult to keep AGOA given the Trump administration’s stance. Ntshabele said South Africa’s citrus growers were urging that their product be exempt from tariffs given they worked in tandem with U.S. farmers to provide fruit to American consumers at different times of the year. South African citrus growers do not directly threaten the jobs or incomes of citrus growers in places like California, Florida and Texas, Ntshabele said. Gerald Imray, Associated Press Associated Press writers Keketso Phakela in Maseru, Lesotho; and Sarah Tetaud in Antananarivo, Madagascar, contributed to this report.
Category:
E-Commerce
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