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Trump Pulls US out of over 60 Global Bodies, including UN Agencies and India-France-led Solar Alliance
Moneylife Digital Team 08 January 2026
Economy & Nation
In a sweeping move that sharply curtails Washington’s engagement with multilateral institutions, US president Donald Trump has ordered the country to withdraw from more than 60 international organisations, including several United Nations (UN) bodies and the India-France-led International Solar Alliance (ISA). 
 
President Trump signed a memorandum on Wednesday titled 'Withdrawing the United States from International Organisations, Conventions, and Treaties that Are Contrary to the Interests of the United States'. The order directs US departments and agencies to cease participation in, and funding for, 66 international entities that the administration claims no longer serve American interests.
 
After signing the memorandum, president Trump says he had determined it is 'contrary' to US interests to remain a member of or otherwise support the listed organisations. The White House says the bodies 'operate contrary to US national interests, security, economic prosperity, or sovereignty' and promote 'globalist agendas' over domestic priorities.
 
 
Secretary of state Marco Rubio says the move was in line with president Trump’s 'America First' policy. “What started as a pragmatic framework of international organisations for peace and cooperation has morphed into a sprawling architecture of global governance, often dominated by progressive ideology and detached from national interests,” Mr Rubio says, adding that the US would cooperate internationally only where it benefits the American people.
 
 
Among the 31 UN-linked entities affected are: the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the International Trade Centre, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the UN Population Fund, and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, along with regional economic and social commissions and the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women.
 
Several of these bodies are funded through the UN’s regular budget, to which the US contributes a mandated 22%. The Trump administration has not released a US$820mn (million) US contribution for 2025 approved by Congress and has proposed cutting the country’s UN funding this year by US$610mn.
 
Climate-related organisations feature prominently on the list. President Trump, who has repeatedly dismissed climate change as a 'hoax', has already withdrawn the US from the Paris Climate Agreement, negotiated under the UNFCCC. The latest order also targets UN entities dealing with water, oceans, energy, and deforestation, as well as non-UN climate bodies.
 
Notably, US has also withdrawn from the Gurugram-headquartered International Solar Alliance, founded in 2015 by India and France to promote solar energy deployment and mobilise US$1trn (trillion) in investments by 2030. The ISA has 124 signatories, with about 100 full members, and is currently led by director-general Ashish Khanna.
 
According to US government data, between 2022 and 2025 Washington contributed US$2.1mn to ISA to support the US-India climate and clean energy agenda 2030 partnership. The US had committed to joining the ISA in 2016 during a meeting between prime minister (PM) Narendra Modi and then-US president Barack Obama.
 
Explaining the decision, Mr Rubio cited what he called 'climate orthodoxy' that he says worked against US sovereignty and economic prosperity. Alongside the ISA, other non-UN organisations affected include: the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007, the Global Counterterrorism Forum, the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise and the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance.
 
The order also targets offices of the UN secretary-general’s special representatives dealing with children in armed conflict, violence against children, and sexual violence in armed conflict. President Trump had earlier withdrawn the US from UNESCO, the UN Human Rights Council, and the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA.
 
UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres did not immediately respond to the latest US decision. The withdrawals mark a significant escalation in president Trump’s long-running campaign against multilateral institutions, signalling a deeper retreat from global cooperation on climate, development, trade, and human rights during his second term.
 
Comments
iaminprabhu
2 months ago
UN itself should be DISBANDED!

Without INDIA or Brazil not included in BIG 5 group, which has VETO POWER in everything since Decades, UN doesn't reflect or represent TRUE Global picture!

UN is more of "UNunited Nation's with 5 Autocratic Rulers at helm"!
Reply
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