Trump officials threaten UN budget cuts as US pushes 'trade over aid' agenda [View all]

Source: The Guardian

Mon 4 May 2026 06.00 EDT
Last modified on Mon 4 May 2026 11.29 EDT


The Trump administration is continuing to pressure the United Nations and the international aid sector more broadly to adopt trade-focused policies to benefit US firms – or face the threat of further budget cuts.

Donald Trump’s second term has already seen USAID suffer mass layoffs and have its remaining operations folded into the state department, with a ripple effect across the globe that has many experts warning will cost thousands of lives as vital programs are cut. The Trump administration has also largely suspended support for agencies, including the World Health Organization, the UN human rights council and the UN’s cultural body Unesco.

Last week the Trump administration unveiled a “trade over aid” initiative at the United Nations, outlining a shift away from donor-focused development assistance toward greater private investment, or what it says is “an international economic development vision built on free markets”. At the same time, the news website Devex reported on two US diplomatic notes that circulated in Geneva and New York that made it clear that the US was willing to use the threat of more budget cuts to the international community in order to force through its agenda.

One note obtained by Devex said the US would only pay “a significant portion” of its UN dues if the international body implemented a series of budget-slashing reforms ranging from overhauling the UN pension scheme to slashing travel costs. It also said that the US would only pay an additional payment to UN peacekeeping budgets in return for a 10 percent reduction in peacekeeping missions, Devex reported. The Trump administration fired nearly all of USAID’s 16,000 employees when it dismantled the agency last year. An estimated 280,000 contractors, partners and local hires worldwide also lost their jobs as the impact of the move spread across the world into some of the most vulnerable populations.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/04/trump-us-aid-budget-united-nations