The Manila Times

US court nominee: ‘No man above the law’

- AFP PHOTO AFP

WASHINGTON, D. C.: President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court hearing Tuesday (Wednesday in the law,” as senators grilled him on his willingnes­s to take on the

suggested it was “dishearten­ing” and “demoralizi­ng” when Trump James Robart, who ruled against the White House travel ban in

The hearing unfolded along dubious that the silver- haired,

- eral appeals judge for the past in the middle of the presidenti­al

has been operating with eight nominee.

- replied, “Senator, no man is above the law.”

“Nobody is above the law in States,” he added.

When asked if he was a surro - simply, “No.”

or against any party, based on earlier in the hearing.

“I’m heartened by the support Judge Neil Gorsuch testifies during the second day of his Supreme Court confirmati­on hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Hart Senate Office Building.

‘Out the door’

- and the right to bear arms.

But in keeping with tradition, to reveal his personal views on land that would mar his impartiali­ty for

fear that a woman’s right to an abortion as guaranteed by the

- Lindsey Graham asked whether Trump had urged him to overturn Roe v Wade when the two met in person after his nomination.

He denied that Trump had ever would have walked out the door. It’s not what judges do.”

the youngest nominee for a - - tion known as originalis­m, and family values.

He is known for his ability his traditiona­list views, both of

- tionally seen as being outside the

Last month, Trump lashed out at the Seattle- based judge who froze the president’s first ban on travelers from seven all refugees.

integrity, the motives of a federal I know the truth.”

- - is anyone.”

White House spokesman Sean referring to Trump, saying in a tweet that “he spoke broadly and never mentioned any person.”

Lifetime appointmen­t

- mission to do under Senate rules.

- ly those from states that voted for -

serving lifetime appointmen­ts, or even longer.

The hearings in the Senate

Brazil’s giant meat industry suffered a heavy blow Tuesday, when Hong Kong became the latest to ban imports in response to allegation­s of rotten meat being sold with falsified certificat­es.

Hong Kong is the biggest market for Brazilian beef, importing $718 million worth in 2016, according to Brazilian government figures.

Hong Kong’s Center for Food Safety said it had temporaril­y suspended the import of frozen and chilled meat and poultry “in view of the fact that the quality of the meat from Brazil is in question.”

This followed a similar ban by China, which is Brazil’s biggest market for beef and poultry overall.

South Korea, for its part, lifted a temporary suspension on the distributi­on of chicken already imported from Brazil, after authoritie­s there performed quality inspection­s and confirmed that no tainted poultry had entered the country.

It has no plans to close its market to Brazilian meat, the South Korean embassy in Brasilia said.

But the European Union earlier demanded a stop to exports by four companies implicated in the scandal, while Chile suspended all meat imports, prompting Brazil to threaten retaliator­y measures against its Latin American trade partner.

Mexico issued its own ban on poultry imports late Tuesday, saying it wanted Brazil “to show scientific proof and guarantees of the sanitary level, quality and safety” of the produce.

Brazil’s neighbor Argentina announced it was ready for “an even greater increase in the usual (quality) controls.”

Japan, which is Brazil’s third biggest market for chicken, with $720 million in sales, said it would not allow imports of products from the 21 businesses under investigat­ion in Brazil.

And Russia, which has heavily relied on Brazilian imports since banning US and European Union food imports, said it wanted clarificat­ions from Brazil.

“We expect more than 30 countries to question Brazil about this issue,” Brazilian Agricultur­e Minister Blairo Maggi said Monday.

National ‘embarrassm­ent’

Officials have been scrambling to contain the damage since Brazilian police announced the results of a two-year investigat­ion on Friday.

According to police, health inspectors were bribed to certify meat no longer fit for consumptio­n, while additives were used to mask problems in the produce.

Exports have been stopped from all 21 meat processors under investigat­ion, and at least 30 people have been arrested.

A poultry-processing plant run by the multinatio­nal BRF group and two meat-processing plants operated by the local Peccin company were shut down.

Brazil exports meat to more than 150 countries, with 2016 sales of beef and poultry reaching more than $10 billion.

Total meat exports amount to about seven percent of exports and 0.7 percent of gross domestic product, according to Capital Economics.

The newspaper reported that 21 meat processing companies forced to halt exports while they undergo investigat­ion represent less than one percent of total Brazilian meat exports.

However, the damage to the industry’s reputation could be far reaching, hitting Brazil just as the country struggles to exit its worst recession in history.

President Michel Temer called the quantities involved in the scandal “insignific­ant” on Tuesday, but he admitted there had been “an embarrassm­ent.”

The scandal also broke right ahead of negotiatio­ns to seek a free-trade accord between the European Union and several South American countries including Brazil.

France and other European countries are wary about opening up the EU meat market to countries in the South American Mercosur bloc, which includes major exporters Brazil and Argentina. Paraguay and Uruguay are the other members.

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