The Trump administration has begun the process of transferring $725 million to the United Nations, according to a congressional notification reviewed by Reuters. Aid experts described the move as a welcome step toward settling the billions of dollars in arrears owed by the United States.
The administration provided no immediate comment from Washington, D.C., regarding the timing of the payment. The U.S. has previously cut funding to numerous UN agencies and criticized the organization for failing to meet its expectations.
The payment, which appears in a previously unreported State Department notification dated August 4 addressed to Congress, is expected to be completed before Donald Trump delivers his address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York next month.
UN Secretary‑General António Guterres warned earlier this year that the organization faced “imminent financial collapse” because of unpaid contributions from member states, prompting significant budget reductions across its operations.
The $725 million payment would cover less than 20 percent of the over $4 billion that the UN reported in May as the amount owed by the United States. Washington has disputed that figure, asserting that its arrears are substantially lower and that it has already made several payments.
Eugene Chen, a former UN official, told Reuters that the transfer would help sustain salary payments for a time, though it might not be sufficient to cover all obligations. “It keeps the ship afloat a little longer,” he observed. He added, “If the U.S. does not make further payments, it will likely lose its voting rights in January.” Under Article 19 of the UN Charter, a member state forfeits its voting privileges in the General Assembly when its arrears exceed two years of annual contributions, though grace periods may be granted.
Ronny Patz, a UN‑finance specialist at the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), said a sizable payment now could prevent the need for immediate budget cuts. “If they pay a big chunk, the UN still runs on zero reserves but it gets through the year,” Patz noted. “If they don’t pay, the UN might really be in trouble for the last two or three months of the year in terms of paying salaries and keeping the doors open.”
The United States remains the largest financial contributor to the UN system, yet the Trump administration has declined to meet its mandatory contributions to both the regular and peacekeeping budgets while substantially reducing voluntary funding for other programs. In addition, Washington has withdrawn from dozens of UN and other international agencies.
