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The Trump administration has paid more than $25 million in overdue dues to the World Trade Organization despite its frequent attacks on the global trade body, according to emails seen by the Financial Times.
The move comes eight months after the administration announced it was suspending its annual contributions pending a review of U.S. payments to a host of multilateral organizations, including the WTO and OECD.
Based on its share of global trade, the United States was expected to contribute 11 percent of the WTO’s 205 million Swiss francs ($257 million) annual budget in 2024. This amount was estimated at 23.2 million Swiss francs in the WTO’s annual report last December, the equivalent of $25.7 million at the time.
The United States was subject to “administrative measures” by the WTO in March after failing to pay its contributions for 2024, triggering an escalating series of punitive measures taken against late-paying members.
News of the payment was communicated indirectly to WTO staff via an email, seen by the FT, informing them that the US was no longer subject to “administrative measures”.
A Trump administration official confirmed the payment but declined to comment further or specify the amount transferred. “The contributions set for 2024 to the WTO have been paid,” the official said. The WTO secretariat declined to comment.
Just last month, the White House derided the WTO as “toothless,” accusing it of aiding and abetting “global trade cheating by the Chinese Communist Party.” But he later retracted his statement without explanation.
Although they continue to neutralize the WTO’s ability to enforce global trade rules by refusing to provide judges to the appellate body, its main enforcement mechanism, diplomats said the United States continues to engage in the WTO’s technical work at the administrative level.
Trade experts said the decision to quietly settle scores, while welcome, represented a decision to engage in a way that worked to Washington’s advantage rather than a radical change in approach.
“Washington’s transfer to the WTO is not a gesture of faith, it is a feeding tube. The goal is not recovery, it is control,” said Simon Evenett, professor of geopolitics and strategy at the IMD business school in Lausanne, Switzerland.
George Riddell, chief executive of Goyder, a trade consultancy, added that U.S. contributions would ease some of the WTO’s immediate budgetary constraints, which had led it to scale back its activities and technical assistance to developing country governments.
“The U.S. government’s position on the WTO remains nuanced,” he said, noting that recent trade deals between President Donald Trump’s administration and Southeast Asian countries included conditions requiring them to support WTO agreements.
“Nevertheless, this is unlikely to signal mass support for the WTO, where discussions on reforming the organization remain tense ahead of the planned ministerial meeting. [conference] in March 2026,” added Riddell.
