United Nations: While the United Nations teeters on the edge of a financial crisis due to the US withholding nearly $4 billion in dues, former President Donald Trump has claimed that he could resolve the problem “very easily.”
In an interview with Politico on Sunday (local time), Trump did not specify whether he would release the funds owed by the US, which, according to the UN, are at the heart of its financial difficulties.
In a letter to heads of UN missions, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the world body faces “imminent financial collapse,” though he did not specifically mention US arrears. According to UN officials, Washington owes $2.196 billion to the regular UN budget and $1.8 billion to its separate peacekeeping budget. Excluding the 2026 regular budget assessment of $768 million, which has until the end of the year for payment, the past dues amount to $1.429 billion.
The United States is the single largest contributor to the UN, accounting for 22 per cent of the regular budget, and its arrears have an outsized impact on the organisation’s finances.
Trump, who has often criticised the UN and withdrawn the US from several of its agencies, adopted a more conciliatory tone in the interview, framing the UN as a potential legacy project. “When I’m no longer around to settle wars, the UN can. It has tremendous potential. Tremendous,” he said.
He reiterated his past claims of ending eight wars singlehandedly and highlighted the UN Board of Peace, approved by the Security Council to oversee the end of the Gaza conflict and its rebuilding, as an alternative to UN interventions. Addressing speculation about the UN leaving New York, Trump said, “The UN is not leaving New York, and it’s not leaving the United States, because the UN has tremendous potential.”
As a cost-saving measure, the UN has moved some functions to less costly locations abroad and is considering relocating others. Trump told Politico that he could get countries to pay their UN dues “in minutes.”
Unlike NATO, where Trump successfully pressured member countries to increase defence spending, contributions to the UN are set by the General Assembly. Trump cannot unilaterally change the assessments. While the US is in arrears, none of the other major contributors, including China (18 per cent of the budget), are behind on payments for 2025 or prior years. Some smaller contributors, like Mexico and Venezuela, are in arrears, but collecting from them would not significantly affect the UN’s fiscal situation.
Trump referenced NATO’s 30 members agreeing to raise defence budgets to 5 per cent of GDP after his pressure. “All I have to do is call these countries… they would send checks within minutes,” he said, without addressing US arrears. One country, Spain, however, refused to comply with the NATO increase.
Guterres stressed in his letter that “Either all member states honour their obligations to pay in full and on time—or member states must fundamentally overhaul our financial rules to prevent an imminent financial collapse.” Any attempt by Trump to change UN contribution rules would require approval by a majority of the 193 member states, a major challenge.
The $4 billion question remains unanswered: will the US pay its dues? UN officials warned that the organisation could run out of funds by July, potentially affecting the high-level General Assembly meeting in September at the New York headquarters, which could theoretically be forced to close its iconic glass-facade building.
With IANS inputs