The Trump administration is seeking to get other nations to cut back on global humanitarian aid and ‘promote America First values’ by investing in US companies, according to new reports.
The ‘trade over aid’ initiative will be an opportunity to use the United Nations system to ‘create business opportunities for US companies,’ per a cable sent to all US embassies and consulates.
In the cable reviewed by The Washington Post, Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered all US diplomats to issue a démarche – an official call to action – to all foreign nations by Monday that asks them to support the new initiative.
The US plans to introduce this idea at the UN at the end of April, according to the cable.
‘For decades, government aid has been flowing from developed to developing countries with only limited impact,’ according to one of the notes the outlet obtained.
‘It has not solved the world’s economic development challenges, and it has often created dependency, inefficiency, and corruption.’
‘Donors and developing countries are ready to try a new development aid model,’ the note continued.
Even before Trump returned to power in 2025, Western nations including Germany, Sweden, Canada and Norway have been reducing foreign aid since at least 2022.
And since Trump’s proposed reordering of the global aid system, France, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom have largely followed suit.
Data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) found that aid from its members has dropped by about 23 percent from 2024 to 2025.
Trump takes a shot at the UN as he sends blunt ‘America First’ message to the world marking a major shift in the global order… and US businesses are expected to reap the benefits
American Buddhist Net 