April 26, 2026
World
World
BEIJING, April 26 — China’s top diplomat Wang Yi said Beijing would “firmly support” Myanmar in safeguarding its sovereignty and security during talks with junta leader-turned-president Min Aung Hlaing.
GENEVA, Sept 5 — The World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) confirmed to AFP that they are no longer included in the White House’s latest round of foreign aid cuts.
US President Donald Trump’s administration announced last Friday that it was cancelling US$4.9 billion in congressionally-approved foreign aid, drawing criticism from Democrats.
In a memo outlining the cuts, the White House said it was “committed to getting America’s fiscal house in order by cutting government spending that is woke, weaponised, and wasteful.”
Trump, who has already scaled back the role of USAID — the world’s largest humanitarian aid agency — since returning to office in January, had initially listed several international organisations among the targets. These included US$107 million in ILO funding and US$29 million for the WTO.
However, by Wednesday, the WTO had been removed from the list, and the ILO followed a day later.
“We are aware of the removal of the International Labour Organisation from a US administration memo released on 29 August,” an ILO spokesperson told AFP, adding that the agency was seeking clarification on the development.
The WTO also confirmed it was “not on the funding cut list any more,” though neither organisation received an explanation for their exclusion.
Earlier, the ILO said Trump’s previous executive orders slashing foreign aid had forced the closure of most US-funded projects. Of the 229 ILO staff involved in these projects, 190 were initially laid off, though more than half were later reassigned to other work, according to the agency.
The US remains the largest contributor to the WTO’s budget, providing 23 million Swiss francs (RM121 million) this year, or 11.4 per cent of the total. It also traditionally covers 22 per cent of the ILO’s regular budget.
However, Washington has yet to pay its contributions for 2024 or 2025 to either organisation — a delay that is not uncommon among member states. — AFP
