US freezes all international aid: 'It will cause people to die'

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has temporarily frozen all aid following President Donald Trump's demand for a review of 'all forms of aid provided outside the US.' According to an internal State Department memo that the foreign press claims to have 'seen,' all aid transferred to Ukraine has been halted. On the other hand, aid to Israel and Egypt has been exempted from the decision.

It is stated that after Trump issued the freeze order to review whether the aid aligns with his foreign policy, Rubio issued a 'stop work' order for all existing foreign aid and blocked new aid packages.

According to the memo that Reuters claims to have 'seen,' exemptions were granted for military financing to Israel and Egypt. No other country was mentioned in the memo. This means that aid to Ukraine has also been cut.

Meanwhile, the US-based Financial Times also reported on the story, claiming to have 'seen' the same memo.

If the reports are accurate, this carries the risk of cutting off billions of dollars in aid. The US is currently the world's largest donor. In 2023, the US distributed 72 billion dollars in aid.

Just hours after taking office on Monday, Trump had ordered a 90-day pause on foreign aid pending a review for 'foreign policy efficiency and consistency.' No information was shared regarding the scope of the order.

In the memo sent to the State Department, senior officials were asked to 'prevent the creation of new obligations regarding foreign aid, to the maximum extent permitted by law, until Rubio makes a decision following the review.'

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio

WHAT WILL BE THE IMPACT OF THE DECISION ON THE WORLD?

For many years, the US has been the world's largest provider of international aid. Aid was provided in various regions of the world through the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) in areas such as food, clean water, employment, and education. Additionally, the US provided financing and equipment support to its allies in different parts of the world for their military struggles.

Jeremy Konyndyk, a former US Agency for International Development (USAID) official and current president of Refugees International, evaluated the news in a statement to Reuters:

'This is insane. This will kill people. I mean, if what is said in that memo is implemented as written... a lot of people will die.

There is no way to view this as a good-faith effort to sincerely review the effectiveness of foreign aid programs. This is a simple wrecking ball designed to break as much as possible.'

Furthermore, another unnamed source noted that 'Trump's order is unlawful.'

A 'source close to Congress,' whose views were included by Reuters, stated the following:

'This freezing of international investments will lead our partners to look for other funding partners—likely the US's rivals and adversaries—to fill this void.'

The US has supported Ukraine in its war with Russia by sending advanced Patriot missile defense systems and M1 Abrams tanks. It is known that the Ukrainian army has been able to sustain the war with military and financial aid from its allies, primarily the US.

News Source: 12punto