Dare Babalola
The White House has unexpectedly removed the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) from its list of entities targeted for foreign aid cuts.
The Trump administration had initially planned to slash $107 million in funding to the ILO and $29 million to the WTO as part of a broader $4.9 billion reduction in congressionally approved foreign aid.
“We are aware of the removal of the International Labour Organisation from a US administration memo released on 29 August,” the ILO told AFP.
“We are seeking more information on what this latest development means for the ILO,” it added.
The WTO also confirmed to AFP that it was “not on the funding cut list any more.”
The reason behind the White House’s decision to remove the two Geneva-based organisations from the list remains unclear.
The ILO had previously announced that the majority of its projects funded by the US were given closure orders due to Trump’s earlier executive orders slashing foreign funding. This decision affected 229 ILO staff members working on US-funded projects, with 190 initially receiving layoff notices, although more than half were later reassigned to other projects.
“We had to adapt to the new funding landscape,” said an ILO spokesperson, highlighting the organisation’s efforts to mitigate the impact of funding cuts.
The US is a significant contributor to both organisations, providing 11.4% of the WTO’s budget ($28.5 million) and 22% of the ILO’s regular budget. However, Washington has yet to pay its contributions for 2024 and 2025 to either organisation.
