WASHINGTON - 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.

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.

The push to encourage countries to sign on could be an indicator that other nations are skeptical of the Trump administration’s efforts.

Sam Vigersky, an international affairs fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said the initiative may be received poorly at the United Nations, particularly as the Trump administration advances other efforts — such as the Board of Peace, an international body set up by the United States with President Donald Trump as its chairman — interpreted in some foreign capitals as undermining the global body.

The cable says that the U.S. mission to the United Nations will host a signing event for the declaration before the end of April. (Source: The Washington Post)

Story Date: April 16, 2026