Trump administration pushes nations to sign 'trade over aid' declaration

[littlemissmartypants]

Source: Washington Post

The Trump administration is pushing countries around the world to sign a joint declaration that calls for “trade over aid” and explicitly rejects America’s history as a leading provider of humanitarian assistance and other support to the developing world.

In a cable sent Wednesday to all U.S. embassies and consular posts, Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered American diplomats to issue a démarche — an official call to action — to foreign nations no later than Monday that asks for their backing before the U.S. initiative is introduced at the United Nations at the end of April.

The “trade over aid” push is an opportunity, Rubio’s directive says, to use the U.N. system to “promote America First values and create business opportunities for U.S. companies.” The Washington Post reviewed a copy of his cable, which has not previously been reported.

The move comes as the Trump administration has sought to dramatically remake the global aid system, dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and pulling back funding from multilateral efforts at the United Nations, arguing that such initiatives have led to waste, fraud and dependency.

Read more: https://wapo.st/4tg4zI4

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio called it an opportunity to use the U.N. system to “promote America First values,” according to a cable reviewed by The Post.

April 15, 2026 at 7:39 p.m. EDT

[Doodley]

1. Some nations will be bullied into signing. Others will throw it in the trash where it belongs.

[Dave Bowman]

2. America First values? Do these clowns know the meaning of the word irony?

[amcgrath]

3. How about the world just rejects America?

We're pretty much there

[applegrove]

4. They want africans dead. There is no other explanation.

[C Moon]

5. "Hey world! Help make the rich richer!!"

I would love to read history books 100 years from now.

[highplainsdem]

6. They want a 21st century version of colonialism.

[pat_k]

7. WTAF!! "use the U.N. system to "promote America First values..."

...
Other major donors of foreign assistance, including France, Germany and Britain, have followed the Trump administration’s lead and scaled back their efforts, leading to what some have called a “great aid recession.” Studies have suggested that such a sweeping rollback of funding could result in 9.4 million deaths by 2030.

While there have long been many criticisms of the global aid system and the dependency it can breed, skeptics have argued that the Trump administration’s approach will allow for-profit companies to exploit poorer nations.

“It’s solidifying our stance on dropping aid completely and letting companies enrich themselves on newer markets,” said one State Department official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk with the news media.

Ah well, what's 10 million deaths against the billions to be made coming up with creative ways to exploit human suffering.

[tanyev]

8. What, exactly, does the U.S. produce that they can't get elsewhere?

[littlemissmartypants]

9. It's more of a justification for cutting monetary assistance than anything else.