Trump suspends US aid to other countries: What it means and how affects Ukraine
Photo: Donald Trump, 47th President of the United States of America (Getty Images)
On the first day of his second presidential term, Donald Trump issued a series of orders. Among other things, he suspended American aid to other countries for 90 days.
RBC-Ukraine explains what the order means and whether it means that Ukraine will be without American support.
Contents
What order provides for
Trump's executive order states that the US foreign aid industry and bureaucracy are not in the American interest and in many cases are inconsistent with American values.
At the same time, according to the text, it is the policy of the United States that no further US foreign assistance should be provided in a manner that is not fully consistent with the foreign policy of the President.
The 90-day pause in US foreign assistance will be used to assess programmatic effectiveness and consistency with US foreign policy.
According to the order, all heads of departments and agencies responsible for US foreign development assistance programs must immediately suspend new commitments and disbursements to foreign countries and implementing NGOs, as well as international organizations and contractors.
Payments are suspended until such programs are reviewed for effectiveness and consistency with US foreign policy. Such a review must take place within 90 days.
The heads of the relevant departments must order a review of the relevant assistance programs, under the instructions of the US Secretary of State. As of today, this position is held by Marco Rubio.
Based on the analysis, the heads of the departments will also decide whether to terminate, extend, or change the amount of assistance. The decision must also be approved by the Secretary of State. The administrative and budgetary department will ensure compliance with this pause.
At the same time, the Secretary of State may cancel the suspension of assistance under certain programs.
What suspension means for Ukraine
The context of the order suggests that it refers to development assistance funding, i.e. non-military aid.
In addition, one of the clauses of the order stipulates that it should be implemented by applicable US law and subject to the availability of appropriations. This clause may be important because, in particular, military aid to Ukraine is allocated by a separate law that was adopted not by the President but by the US Congress.
Development assistance is usually allocated through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). It finances both government projects under the auspices of foreign governments and projects of non-governmental organizations and operates with multibillion-dollar budgets.
RBC-Ukraine sent a request to the US Embassy to clarify the situation, but it did not receive a response yet.
At the same time, several unrelated interlocutors of RBC-Ukraine suggested that the order only applies to USAID programs, not macro-financial or military assistance to Ukraine. However, they are also still waiting for more detailed information to become available.
During his inaugural speech, Trump declared the beginning of America's golden age. He also introduced a state of emergency on the southern border of the United States and in the energy sector and withdrew the United States from the World Health Organization.
Sources: Donald Trump's order and comments of RBC-Ukraine's interlocutors in the Ukrainian government.
