The Trump administration has begun the process of transferring $725 million to the United Nations, potentially providing temporary relief to the cash-strapped global body facing billions of dollars in unpaid US dues.
| Photo Credit:
CARLO ALLEGRI
W The Trump
administration has started the process to transfer $725 million
to the United Nations, a congressional notification seen by
Reuters showed, a move aid experts said was a welcome step
towards paying billions in dues owed.
There was no immediate response from Washington to questions
about the reasons for the payment from an administration which
has slashed funding to many U.N. agencies and blasted the global
body for not living up to its potential.
The money – mentioned in an August 4 State Department
notification letter to Congress that has not been reported – is
set to go through before an expected speech by U.S. President
Donald Trump to the U.N. General Assembly in New York next
month.
‘IT KEEPS THE SHIP AFLOAT A LITTLE LONGER’
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said this year that
the U.N. faced “imminent financial collapse” due to unpaid
contributions from member states, and the global body has
brought in large budget cuts.
The $725 million would be less than 20% of the more than $4
billion that the U.N. said in May it was owed by the United
States — though Washington has said that total figure is much
lower and that it has made some payments.
Eugene Chen, a former U.N. official, told Reuters such a
transfer would help pay U.N. salaries for a period, but might
not cover them all. “It keeps the ship afloat a little longer,”
he said.
“If the U.S. does not make further payments it will likely
lose its voting rights in January,” he added.
Under article 19 of the U.N. Charter, a member state loses
its voting rights in the General Assembly if its arrears exceed
two years in annual fees, although grace periods are possible.
A significant transfer now could avert the need for
immediate spending cuts, Ronny Patz, an expert in U.N. finance
with German think tank IDOS, said.
“If they pay a big chunk, the U.N. still runs on zero
reserves but it gets through the year,” Patz added. “If they
don’t pay, the U.N. might really be in trouble for the last two
or three months of the year in terms of paying salaries and
keeping the doors open.”
The U.S. is the biggest contributor to the U.N. budget, but
under the Trump administration it has refused to make mandatory
payments to regular and peacekeeping budgets, and has slashed
voluntary funding to U.N. agencies with their own budgets.
Washington has also withdrawn from dozens of U.N. and other
international agencies.
The U.N. had been counting on collecting around 90% of dues
from its 193 members for this year’s budget, its Controller
Chandramouli Ramanathan said last month.
As of August 18, some 129 members had paid in full, a U.N.
document showed. China, the number 2 contributor after
Washington, was also absent from the list.
The State Department said in its August 4 letter it was
obligating a total of $725 million for the U.N.’s regular
budget.
The U.S. State Department and the U.S. diplomatic mission to
the United Nations did not immediately respond to requests for
comment by email on Friday.
In May, the U.N. said the more than $4 billion owed to it by
Washington included $2.04 billion for the regular budget, $2.2
billion for current and past peacekeeping missions, and $44
million for U.N. tribunals.
Washington has not transferred around $153.4 million in what
it calls “policy-based withholdings”. That included $10.6
million meant for the Human Rights Council — which Washington
disengaged from last year alleging an anti-Israel bias — and
funds for the U.N. Palestinian Refugee Agency.
The 80-year-old institution has been undergoing a decisive
reform and cost-cutting exercise known as “UN80” amid its
financial crisis.
It has already cut its 2026 budget by 9.2% and transferred
over 2,000 jobs out of expensive cities like Geneva and New York
to lower-cost hubs.
Published on August 21, 2026
