The United States is continuing to distance itself from global cooperation, announcing last week that President Donald Trump’s administration is starting the process of withdrawing from 66 international organisations, agencies and commissions, including the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) and International Trade Centre (ITC) – two organisations focused on supporting trade in developing countries.
According to a White House statement, the decision to pull support from these and other key organisations such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), UN Women and the UN Population Fund aims to remove the US from organisations that “undermine America’s independence and waste taxpayer dollars on ineffective or hostile agendas.”
Time will tell how this move will impact companies that rely on cross-border business. Experts warn that US disengagement could reduce the effectiveness of multilateral trade dialogues and weaken a rules-based system that has underpinned decades of global economic cooperation.
For some of these organisations, not much will change. Unctad, for example, has not received funding from the US since 2018, after Palestine was granted membership, and its role in the rules-based trading system is limited compared to some other bodies, such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), of which the US is still a member.
“The implications of the US disengaging from Unctad is less clear than it is for some of the other organisations the administration has also announced its departure from — like the IPCC,” says Ruth Benbow, Navigator Global’s ecosystem development director for North America.
On the other hand, global businesses – and especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) – may feel the US’ withdrawal from the ITC, which helps SMEs in developing nations grow internationally, according to Benbow.
She notes, however, that the US is currently not one of the agency’s major funders, which could soften the disruption. “There is hope that the broader multilateral system will continue to work without the US being engaged in these forums,” she says.
In response to the White House’s announcement, a statement from the office of UN Secretary-General António Guterres noted that certain levels of financial contribution are a legal obligation of all UN member states, including the United States. Last year, the US was responsible for 22% of the UN’s budget.
As the US reviews its options for exiting the various organisations “to the extent permitted by law”, the UN is waiting to see whether only voluntary funding will be affected.
In the meantime, “the United Nations has a responsibility to deliver for all those who depend on us, and we will continue to carry out our mandates with determination,” the UN statement said.
The General Assembly has approved a US$3.45bn regular budget — excluding peacekeeping operations — for the UN for 2026, a drop from the US$3.72bn allocated in 2025.