Trump suspends international aid for 90 days/ What is known so far?

United States President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday that temporarily suspends all US international assistance programs for 90 days, pending a review of whether they are consistent with his policy objectives.

It is not yet clear how this decision will affect current US aid programs, as funding for many programs has already been approved by the US Congress and must be spent, if it has not already been spent.

Radio Free Europe has asked the US Embassy and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) whether this decision will in any way affect the aid planned for Kosovo, but so far, it has not received a response.

The USAID website states that, since 1999, over one billion dollars have been spent on the development of Kosovo.

In October last year, USAID marked its 25th anniversary in Kosovo, where it has developed programs to combat corruption, promote the rule of law and good governance, combat disinformation and advocate for independent media, strengthen civil society and democracy, and promote economic development and attract foreign investment.

In August 2024, Kosovo's President, Vjosa Osmani, signed a grant with USAID, which provided additional assistance to Kosovo's institutions worth $34.5 million.

The grant was part of a previously reached agreement worth around $146 million, which aimed to provide better services to citizens, increase institutional accountability, and ensure more efficient management.

Currently, USAID in Kosovo is funding a variety of activities. Among them are:

Such assistance has continued even during the period when the US and the EU have criticized the Kosovo Government for decisions that mainly relate to the livelihood of Serbs in the four Serb-majority municipalities in northern Kosovo, such as the abolition of the Serbian dinar, expropriation in northern Kosovo for the construction of police bases, the closure of parallel institutions that function according to the Serbian system, etc.

The Assistant Administrator for Europe and Eurasia at USAID, Erin Elizabeth McKee - part of the administration of former US President Joe Biden - said during her visit to Kosovo last year that USAID's focus in the future will be supporting the implementation of reforms within the framework of the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans.

"This is a real opportunity for all six Western Balkan countries to move forward with EU membership and be able to not only pass reforms but implement them in a meaningful way," she told Radio Free Europe.

But the order, among many others that Trump signed on his first day back in office, said that "the international aid industry and bureaucracy are not aligned with American interests and in many cases are contrary to American values."

It further states that this aid "serves to destabilize world peace by promoting ideas in foreign countries that are directly contrary to harmonious and stable relations within and between states."

As a result, Trump announced that "international assistance will no longer be distributed by the United States in a manner that is not fully consistent with the foreign policy of the President of the United States."

Last week, the new US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that "every dollar we spend, every program we fund, and every policy we pursue must be justified by the answer to three simple questions."

"Does it make America safer? Does it make America more powerful? Does it make America richer?" he said.

The order signed by Trump leaves it up to Rubio or his representative to determine whether an aid is policy-compliant or not, in consultation with the Office of Management and Budget.

The State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Assistance are the main agencies that oversee international assistance.

Trump has long criticized international aid, despite the fact that such aid typically makes up about 1 percent of the federal budget, except in exceptional circumstances such as the billions in arms given to Ukraine.

Trump has been critical of the amount sent to Ukraine to help bolster its defenses against Russian invasion.

The latest official count of international assistance in the Biden administration shows that $68 billion has been committed to overseas programs ranging from disaster relief to health and pro-democracy initiatives in 204 countries and regions.

Some of the largest recipients of US aid, Israel with $3.3 billion per year, Egypt with $1.5 billion per year and Jordan with $1.7 billion per year, are believed to see dramatic cuts in funding, as these amounts are included in long-term packages dating back decades and in some cases are governed by treaty obligations.

Funding for UN agencies, including peacekeeping, human rights and refugee agencies, has traditionally been a target for Republican administrations. The first Trump administration began cutting spending on international aid, suspending payments to several UN agencies, including the UN Population Fund, and funding for the Palestinian Authority./ REL