The Donald Trump administration is reportedly preparing executive orders that will limit or cut United States funding to international organizations under certain conditions.
The New York Times reported Wednesday it had obtained two draft executive orders, one of which would cut U.S. funding for United Nations agencies and international organizations that meet certain criteria, including those offering membership to the Palestinian Authority or Palestine Liberation Organization, funding abortion, or skirting Iran and North Korea sanctions. The article said the order would also decrease by 40 percent the remaining U.S. funding for international organizations.
The second executive order, the Times reported, would initiate a review of multilateral treaties to identify those the U.S. should abandon – excluding national security-related agreements.
Congress ultimately sets funding for international organizations through the State Department appropriations process; the president can veto such bills.
The United States funds 22 percent of the U.N.’s budget at over $600 million per year through the State Department. Congress appropriates this amount through the international affairs funding bill.
The U.S. is also the largest financial contributor to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog – providing roughly $200 million per year, or about a quarter of the IAEA budget. U.S. contributions to the IAEA come in the form of both assessed and voluntary contributions from Congress for work such as technical cooperation activities, safeguards inspections support, and other high-priority security cooperation projects.
The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization is another related international organization – one that is establishing a global verification regime to detect underground nuclear tests. The United States contributes roughly $32 million per year to the CTBTO’s budget.
Asked about the potential impact of the upcoming executive orders on these organizations, a State Department spokesperson referred questions to the White House. The White House had not released the executive orders as of the time of publication.
