As Donald Trump took over the administration in the United States, he has made a series of changes. In his new move, the US has ordered an immediate cease or suspension of any work in Bangladesh under contracts, work orders, grants, cooperative agreements, or other assistance or procurement instruments.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) said in a letter that the partners shall not resume work under their awards until they receive a notification in writing from the contracting/agreement officer.
"Partners shall take all reasonable steps to minimize the incurrence of costs allocable to their awards," the letter read.
The USAID cited Donald Trump in its letter, saying, "This letter is directing all USAID/Bangladesh implementing partners to immediately cease or suspend any work under your USAID/Bangladesh contract, work order, grant, cooperative agreement, or other assistance or acquisition instrument."
US halts aid to Yunus Regime-led Bangladesh, notifies Dhaka. pic.twitter.com/T59KxcXPWP
— Kanchan Gupta 🇮🇳 (@KanchanGupta) January 26, 2025
Following this decision, bankrupt Bangladesh, which is already dealing with a huge economic crisis, will now battle with even more challenges.
Notably, just hours after Trump was sworn in as US President on Jan 20, he ordered a 90-day pause on US foreign development assistance pending a review of efficiencies and consistency with his foreign policy. However, how his order will turn out was not immediately known.
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On Saturday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered a pause on nearly all foreign aid programmes, including possibly for Ukraine, but excluding military funding for Israel and Egypt, according to an internal memo circulated to US officials and embassies abroad.
As the world’s largest donor of international aid, the US allocated $68 billion to foreign development efforts in 2023, according to official data.
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Moreover, the US is the leading contributor of humanitarian assistance in response to the Rohingya crisis and has provided nearly USD 2.4 billion since the violence began in August 2017.
America has also assisted Bangladesh by providing USD 490 million as obligations and another USD 550 million as disbursement in 2023 alone via all its agencies.
(With inputs from agencies)