NEW DELHI: In a sweeping assertion to advance the ‘America First’ agenda and consolidate the US’s hegemonic ambitions, President Donald Trump has initiated a blanket retreat from 66 multilateral forums on labour reforms, green energy, climate action, and related areas. This massive pullback is antithetical to the global resolve to combat climate catastrophes, pursue green energy goals, and advance other reforms critical to the well-being of humanity and the planet.
The key organisations from which the Trump administration has withdrawn include the International Solar Alliance, an ambitious green energy project established by India. The United States has also withdrawn from numerous United Nations (UN) agencies, including the UN Population Fund. President Donald Trump signed the executive order on January 7, thereby suspending Washington, DC’s participation in key multilateral platforms. This move also halts US funding to these key forums, which is a major setback to the organisations’ ambitious goals.
According to sources, President Trump has also ordered the administration to review the status of other organisations in which the US is a stakeholder, enabling decisions on withdrawal from those forums. The Trump administration reiterates that all the multilateral forums do not fulfil their scope and operational objectives. They are wasteful, woke, poorly managed, unnecessary, and, most importantly, against the core interests of the United States and its agenda, according to Trump’s executive order. “These organisations are a threat to sovereignty, freedom and general prosperity”, reads a statement from the State Department of the US.
The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio asserted that participation in these organisations is “contrary to the interests of the US to remain a member of, participate in, or otherwise provide support”. The core aim beneath the withdrawal is to cut down the wasteful channelising of the US taxpayers money to the ineffective organisations and accomplish the agenda of ‘America First’. “Today, President Trump announced the U.S. is leaving 66 anti-American, useless or wasteful international organizations. Review of additional international organizations remains ongoing”, exclaimed Marco Rubio.
Today, President Trump announced the U.S. is leaving 66 anti-American, useless, or wasteful international organizations. Review of additional international organizations remains ongoing.
These withdrawals keep a key promise President Trump made to Americans – we will stop…
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) January 8, 2026
“It is no longer acceptable to be sending these institutions the blood, sweat and treasure of the American people, with little to nothing to show for it. The days of billions of dollars in taxpayer money flowing to foreign interests at the expense of our people are over”, Marco Rubio further added. “We will not continue expending resources, diplomatic capital and the legitimizing weight of our participation in institutions that are irrelevant to or in conflict with our interests”, Secretary of State Rubio asserted.
The Trump administration had earlier exited from UNESCO, UNFCCC, UN Human Rights Council, Paris agreement on climate action and other key international forums. Meanwhile, experts claim that, as a result of the US withdrawal from the forums and funding constraints, many ambitious projects have been halted. Trump’s withdrawal from the climate action forums is specifically deemed as risky in an era where climate catastrophes are spiking at an insane scale with increasing floods, droughts, wildfires, heat waves and other hazards. The added burden is Donald Trump’s increasing focus on oil and other conventional energy sources, which fuels additional climate conundrums.
The US, the world’s largest economy and the world’s largest emitter or polluter, has retreated from its responsibility to champion the cause of a healthier and safer mankind and the planet. Trump’s hegemonic, hypertransactional attitude is driving the United States and the world away from the critical, inevitable global causes essential to prosperity and security. Trump’s additional actions, such as insane aspiration for oil, Tariff war, etc., are only further pushing the world to the brink of economic, energy and other geopolitical bottlenecks.
