The Trump administration has moved to formally enlist foreign governments in a sweeping reorientation of global development policy, directing American diplomats worldwide to seek official support for a “trade over aid” declaration before its introduction at the United Nations later this month. This would mean a move away from direct aid to poor nations in favor of increased trade, led by private companies.

Principal deputy spokesperson at the state department Tommy Pigott confirmed the initiative on Wednesday, framing it as a rejection of what he called a failed aid model. “The idea that trade and free market capitalism is the surest path to prosperity has been proven by the facts and by history,” Pigott said, adding that those calling for “aid not trade” were “really arguing for lining the pockets of a corrupt NGO industrial complex”.

The new posturing was first reported by the development publication Devex on Tuesday, and the full internal US diplomatic cable was obtained by the Washington Post on Wednesday. The initiative described in the cable is an attack on the obligation of wealthy nations to provide tens of billions of dollars in annual foreign assistance, alongside what the Trump administration characterizes as an endorsement of free-market principles as the primary vehicle for global development.

Ambassador Mike Waltz also previewed the effort during testimony before the Senate foreign relations committee on Tuesday.

A state department official explained the initiative’s four stated aims: advancing pro-business reforms in developing economies; facilitating government-to-private sector dialogue to attract investment; highlighting countries that have pursued free-market development; and brokering business partnerships between developing nations and US companies or international organizations.

The push comes as the administration has already moved to dismantle the overwhelming majority of USAID last year, but humanitarian aid is now vanishing globally. According to new OECD preliminary figures published this week, 26 of 34 donor nations shrank their aid budgets in 2025, with France, Germany and the United Kingdom in the double digits. Chatham House estimates the 17 largest donors combined are on course to cut more than $60bn in aid between 2023 and 2026.

Keir Starmer announced in February that the UK would reduce its aid commitment to 0.3% of gross national income by 2027, its lowest share since 1999, to help fund a defence spending increase.

A study published in the Lancet in February projected that global aid cuts, if sustained, could result in at least 9.4 million additional deaths by 2030, rising to 22.6 million under more severe scenarios. The Center for Global Development estimated that USAID cuts alone may have already contributed to between 500,000 and a million deaths in 2025 relative to prior-year trajectories.

The US mission to the United Nations is expected to host a formal signing event for the declaration before the end of April.