More tales from Trumpistan
Why gutting USAID will cost the United States of America more than Trump can see
Ashok Swain
Published: 10 Feb 2025, 5:15 PMUnited States president Donald Trump’s decision to dismantle USAID (the United States Agency for International Development) is not just ill-conceived policy, it is a geopolitical blunder of historic proportions.
While USAID’s record in recipient nations is chequered, its elimination will create a dangerous vacuum that China will be more than willing to fill. This is not just a matter of foreign aid reform — it is about ceding global influence to a strategic rival.
Since President John F. Kennedy established USAID in 1961, the agency has been a tool for advancing US interests in the guise of humanitarian aid. American foreign aid has always been more about political leverage than development.
Programmes tied to USAID have frequently forced recipient nations to adopt US-friendly policies, implement market reforms that benefit American corporations and serve as strategic footholds for military influence. The aid itself often prioritises short-term fixes rather than fostering real self-reliance, leaving many developing nations in cycles of dependency rather than economic empowerment. Yet, despite these shortcomings, USAID has been a critical instrument of US soft power.
Even when its motives have been self-serving, it has kept the US engaged in regions that would otherwise fall under the influence of China or Russia. USAID has allowed Washington to maintain relationships with governments and institutions which, in its absence, will have no choice but to turn to Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Unlike USAID, China’s investment model is openly predatory, trapping nations in debt while securing their political and economic compliance. Eliminating USAID is not a triumph of fiscal conservatism—it is an open invitation for China to expand its global hegemony. By stepping away from the playing field, Trump is not cutting waste; he is surrendering a pillar of US influence at a time when global competition is intensifying.
China has already outpaced the US in infrastructure financing, and now it will have an even freer hand in directing the development trajectories of emerging economies. This will have lasting consequences not only for the recipient countries but for America’s strategic positioning in the world.
Trump’s vision for a USAID-free America is rooted in a misguided belief that foreign aid is charity rather than a critical component of national security and economic strategy.
This is not a debate about inefficiency or corruption — it is about the fundamental necessity of maintaining US engagement in key global regions. For decades, USAID has been instrumental in fostering alliances, maintaining stability in conflict-prone areas and projecting US values abroad. Without it, American adversaries will gain ground in Africa, Latin America and Asia, where China’s influence is already surging.
The decision also undermines America’s ability to counteract extremism. The underlying causes of terrorism, mass migration and political upheaval — poverty, unemployment and lack of education — are precisely the issues USAID is supposed to address. While its efforts have not always been successful, its absence will unquestionably exacerbate these problems, creating security risks that will ultimately impact the United States.
Eliminating USAID does not eliminate the need for development assistance; it simply ensures that competing powers will be the ones shaping the future of vulnerable regions.
The argument that cutting USAID will save taxpayer dollars is equally misleading. Foreign aid accounts for less than 1 per cent of the US federal budget, a fraction of what the country spends on military interventions and defence contracts.
In 2023, the US allocated approximately $64.7 billion to foreign aid, which pales in comparison to the staggering $916 billion military expenditure. The disparity is striking: while military spending continues to grow unchecked, a minuscule fraction of the budget that fosters diplomacy, economic stability and global partnerships is deemed expendable.
If fiscal responsibility were the true concern, there would be greater scrutiny of defence spending rather than gutting an agency that costs relatively little but provides outsized strategic benefits. Trump’s decision to dismantle USAID is, then, not about efficiency — it is ideological posturing, driven by a flawed understanding of global power dynamics.
Certainly, there will be legal challenges to the move, as USAID was established by congressional legislation.
Even some Republican lawmakers recognise the disastrous consequences of eliminating the agency. Senator Thom Tillis and others have warned that shutting down USAID outright is a mistake that will have longterm geopolitical repercussions.
The choices for USAID should not be to either maintain a flawed system or scrap it entirely. It should be about reforming the agency to better serve both recipient nations and US strategic interests. A reformed USAID, one that prioritises transparency and the long-term self-reliance of beneficiaries, could be an even stronger counterbalance to China’s growing influence.
Trump’s decision to shut down USAID will be remembered as his greatest foreign policy blunder — a move that hastens America’s decline as a global power while handing China an unearned victory.
The world is watching, and the consequences of this reckless decision will be felt for generations to come.
More tales from Trumpistan
Why gutting USAID will cost the United States of America more than Trump can see
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