The Trump administration plans to withdraw from dozens of international organizations. The move includes the United Nations population agency and the U.N. climate treaty. The decision marks a further pullback by the United States from global cooperation.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order suspending U.S. support for 66 organizations, agencies, and commissions. The action followed an administration review of U.S. participation and funding for international organizations. The review included groups linked to the United Nations, according to a White House statement.
Many of the affected groups are tied to the United Nations. They include agencies, commissions, and advisory panels focused on climate, labor, and migration. The Trump administration noted that these efforts promote diversity-related initiatives.
The list includes organizations not affiliated with the U.N. These include the Partnership for Atlantic Cooperation, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, and the Global Counterterrorism Forum.
The Trump administration pointed out that the institutions overlap in purpose and lack effective management. Describing them as unnecessary and wasteful. The administration stated some groups advance agendas that conflict with U.S. interests. Claiming others pose risks to U.S. sovereignty, freedoms, and economic prosperity. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made the remarks.
The decision came after Trump’s administration took actions that unsettled allies and adversaries. The administration launched military operations and issued sharp warnings abroad. The moves include actions involving Venezuela’s leader Nicolás Maduro and statements about Greenland.
US Continued Trend of Withdrawing from Global Agencies
The administration had earlier suspended support for several major agencies. Include the World Health Organization, UNRWA, the U.N. Human Rights Council, and UNESCO.
The U.S. administration has modified how dues are paid to the United Nations. The administration now selects which operations and agencies it supports. Officials say the choices reflect alignment with President Trump’s agenda and U.S. interests.
Daniel Forti, who leads U.N. affairs at the International Crisis Group, said the move reflects a hardline U.S. approach to multilateralism. He stated the administration favors cooperation on its own terms.
The approach marks a sharp adjustment from past Republican and Democratic administrations. Calling for amendments in the United Nations. U.N. responded by cutting staff and programs while reviewing its operations.
Most independent nongovernmental agencies — including some that work with the United Nations — have reported project closures. The closures result from last year’s U.S. decision to cut foreign aid through the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID.
Despite the major shift, Trump administration officials commended the United Nations value. The officials claimed they want to focus taxpayer money on boosting American influence in key U.N. initiatives where the U.S. competes with China. Such as the International Telecommunications Union, the International Maritime Organization, and the International Labor Organization.
The Latest Global Organizations the US Is Exiting
Withdrawing from the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, or UNFCCC, is the latest step by Trump and his allies. The aim is to distance the U.S. from international organizations that focus on climate and climate change.
UNFCCC, the 1992 agreement among 198 countries to provide financial support for climate activities in developing nations, is the foundation of the Paris climate agreement. Trump, who has questioned climate change, withdrew the U.S. from that agreement soon after returning to the White House.
Gina McCarthy, former White House National Climate Adviser, said being the only country outside the treaty is “shortsighted, embarrassing, and a foolish decision.”
“This administration is giving up the country’s ability to influence trillions of dollars in investments, policies, and decisions that could have strengthened our economy and protected us from costly disasters,” McCarthy voiced. She co-chairs America Is All In, a coalition of U.S. states and cities focused on climate.
Mainstream scientists support that climate change is driving more frequent deadly and costly extreme weather. For example, flooding, droughts, wildfires, heavy rainfall, and extreme heat.
The U.S. withdrawal may slow global efforts to reduce greenhouse gases, said Stanford University climate scientist Rob Jackson. He chairs the Global Carbon Project, a group that tracks countries’ carbon dioxide emissions. Jackson said it “gives other nations the excuse to delay their own actions and commitments.”
Experts said it will be hard to make meaningful progress on climate change without cooperation from the U.S., one of the world’s largest emitters and economies.
The U.N. Population Fund, which provides sexual and reproductive health services worldwide, has long faced Republican opposition. Trump cut funding for the agency during his first term. He and other GOP officials have accused it of supporting “coercive abortion practices” in countries such as China.
When President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, he restored funding for the agency. A State Department review the following year found no evidence to support the GOP’s claims.
Other organizations and agencies the U.S. will leave include the Carbon Free Energy Compact, the United Nations University, the International Cotton Advisory Committee, the International Tropical Timber Organization, the Partnership for Atlantic Cooperation, the Pan-American Institute for Geography and History, the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies, and the International Lead and Zinc Study Group.
