America's European allies are trying to pry their unspent money back from USAID

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America's European allies are trying to pry their unspent money back from USAID

2025-03-23 19:37 Last Updated At：19:41

Three European allies provided millions of dollars that the United States was supposed to spend for low-income countries. Then the Trump administration and Elon Musk's government-cutters arrived.

Government officials from Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands told The Associated Press that a combined $15 million they contributed for joint development work overseas has been parked at the U.S. Agency for International Development for months.

After the Republican administration and Musk's Department of Government Efficiency cut USAID’s funding and the bulk of its programs, the Europeans asked whether their money would be funneled to projects as expected or refunded.

They have gotten no response.

“It’s a concern for us, especially as we want our partner organizations to be compensated for the work they have put into the programs,” said Julia Lindholm, a spokeswoman for the Swedish government’s international development agency.

The true total may be larger. Other foreign governments also had money entrusted with USAID for distribution in a range of joint development projects at the time President Donald Trump ordered the funding freeze on Jan. 20, according to an official directly familiar with the matter who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The worries point to the extent to which the new administration's abrupt cutoff of foreign assistance and canceling of contracts for humanitarian and development work are raising questions about Washington's financial reliability. They also show further strain between allies as Trump revamps American foreign policy.

The State Department and USAID did not immediately respond to questions asking how many foreign governments had money for joint development programs going unspent and unrefunded in the USAID funding freeze, how much money that was in total, and whether the administration was doing anything about it.

Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands had been partnering with USAID on a project called Water and Energy for Food, or WE4F. It helps farmers and others in poorer countries develop innovative ways to grow more food without straining water supplies or depending on climate-damaging forms of energy.

“Most importantly," Lindholm said by email, the U.S. failure so far to disburse or refund allies' donations is harming ”6 million of the poorest and most vulnerable farmers in the world who are dependent on the technologies for their food production and food security."

Other administration actions already have alarmed traditional partners. Trump has said he would not necessarily follow the mutual-defense pact underlying the NATO security agreement, he has advanced some of Russia's talking points and demands in its invasion of Ukraine and has imposed tariffs on Canada, the European Union and others.

Now, doubts about the U.S. as a reliable business partner have emerged in lawsuits over the administration's abrupt cancellation of what Secretary of State Marco Rubio said were 83% of USAID contracts, forcing partner organizations to lay off workers and driving some out of business.

In a brief supporting a lawsuit from federal workers, former Defense Secretaries Chuck Hagel and William Perry, former CIA Director Michael Hayden and more than a dozen other former senior U.S. officials said the administration's mass canceling of thousands of USAID contracts was flouting U.S. financial regulations and “destroying the United States' credibility as a reliable partner.”

Canceling the contracts "sends a message that this administration does not feel bound by those regulations — regulations on which every business that works with the United States relies," the former officials said.

In another case, lawyers for nonprofits and businesses seeking payment from USAID told a judge that because of the financial chaos surrounding the agency's dismantling, banks have stopped what used to be routine financing for USAID partners based on their contracts with the U.S. agency.

Since the Cold War, the national security argument for development programs has been that making poorer countries more prosperous and stable lessens refugee flows and conflicts.

Trump and Musk call foreign assistance through USAID in particular a fraud and scam. Administration officials are looking at focusing U.S. development efforts much more narrowly on combating China's influence abroad and boosting U.S. trade and business opportunities.

Growing steadily more alarmed by the administration's foreign aid moves, Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands initially sent USAID emails inquiring about the money they had parked in USAID accounts.

Frustrated at getting no response, two of them warned in the government-to-government emails that they were looking at talking to local media about their missing money, according to the official directly familiar with the matter.

Under court order, the administration has started making good on some $2 billion USAID already owed when Trump ordered the freeze in USAID and State Department foreign assistance on Inauguration Day.

But forced leaves and firings have yanked most officials and workers at USAID's headquarters off the job. That includes many who oversaw development programs and would be involved in tracking down numbers and calculating any refunds for the foreign governments.

Sweden's development agency told the AP that it estimates it has $12 million total, including $5.1 million for WE4F, sitting in USAID accounts — money going unspent for people in Africa, Asia and the Middle East and unrefunded by the administration.

Lindholm, the spokesperson for Sweden’s development agency, called the WE4F program “extraordinarily impactful,” with measurable benefits for farmers and others many times greater than the program’s initial targets.

The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation told the AP that it has received no information about the fate of a $1.4 million funding tranche for WE4F since Trump began dissolving USAID.

The Dutch Foreign Ministry said it reached out to the U.S. aid agency on how much of the $1.6 million it had given most recently for WE4F had yet to be disbursed by USAID and should be refunded, but that it had not yet gotten any response.

"Donor partners are now exploring other opportunities to continue to run the WE4F programme to ensure a responsible completion,” Lindholm said by email.

Knickmeyer reported from Washington, Keaten from Geneva, Corder from The Hague, Netherlands, and Gera from Warsaw, Poland.

The Latest: Trump says Iran proposed negotiations as hundreds killed in protests

U.S. President Donald Trump says Iran has proposed negotiations after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic as a crackdown on demonstrators has led to hundreds of deaths.

Trump said late Sunday his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act before then as reports of deaths mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“Iran called, they want to negotiate,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One.

Iran did not acknowledge Trump’s comments immediately. It has previously warned the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has accurately reported on past unrest in Iran, said at least 572 people have been killed, including 503 protesters and 69 members of security forces. It said more than 10,600 people have been detained over the two weeks of protests. The group relies on supporters in Iran cross-checking information.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

The Latest:

A senior Turkish official voiced opposition to foreign interventions in Iran, warning that such actions could worsen the country’s crisis.

Omer Celik, spokesman for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party, acknowledged on Monday that Iran faces internal challenges but stressed they must be resolved through “its own dynamics and the will of the state.”

“We would never wish for any chaos to emerge in our neighbor Iran,” Celik said, adding that outside interference would only produce “worse outcomes.”

He cautioned that regional instability could escalate further if external involvement is driven by what he described as “Israeli provocations.”

Video circulating online purports to show dozens of bodies in a morgue on the outskirts of Iran’s capital.

People with knowledge of the facility and the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said Monday that the video shows the Kahrizak Forensic Medicine Center.

People are seen walking by bodies in body bags laid out in a large room, attempting to identify them. Another video, widely shared by activists, purportedly shows people gathered around a television monitor at the morgue, looking at images of corpses’ faces. Outside, people can be heard wailing in grief. The footage matches other images of the facility online.

—- By Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Melanie Lidman in Jerusalem

A witness told the AP that the streets of Tehran empty at the sunset call to prayers each night.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, addressed “Dear parents,” which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

—- By Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Iran drew tens of thousands of pro-government demonstrators to the streets Monday in a show of power after nationwide protests challenging the country’s theocracy.

Iranian state television showed images of demonstrators thronging Tehran toward Enghelab Square in the capital.

It called the demonstration an “Iranian uprising against American-Zionist terrorism,” without addressing the underlying anger in the country over the nation’s ailing economy. That sparked the protests over two weeks ago.

State television aired images of such demonstrations around the country, trying to signal it had overcome the protests, as claimed by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi earlier in the day.

China says it opposes the use of force in international relations and expressed hope the Iranian government and people are “able to overcome the current difficulties and maintain national stability.”

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Monday that Beijing “always opposes interference in other countries’ internal affairs, maintains that the sovereignty and security of all countries should be fully protected under international law, and opposes the use or threat of use of force in international relations.”

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz condemned “in the strongest terms the violence that the leadership in Iran is directing against its own people.”

He said it was a sign of weakness rather than strength, adding that “this violence must end.”

Merz said during a visit to India that the demonstrators deserve “the greatest respect” for the courage with which “they are resisting the disproportional, brutal violence of Iranian security forces.”

He said: “I call on the Iranian leadership to protect its population rather than threatening it.”

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman on Monday suggested that a channel remained open with the United States.

Esmail Baghaei made the comment during a news conference in Tehran.

“It is open and whenever needed, through that channel, the necessary messages are exchanged,” he said.

However, Baghaei said such talks needed to be “based on the acceptance of mutual interests and concerns, not a negotiation that is one-sided, unilateral and based on dictation.”

The semiofficial Fars news agency in Iran, which is close to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, on Monday began calling out Iranian celebrities and leaders on social media who have expressed support for the protests over the past two weeks, especially before the internet was shut down.

The threat comes as writers and other cultural leaders were targeted even before protests. The news agency highlighted specific celebrities who posted in solidarity with the protesters and scolded them for not condemning vandalism and destruction to public property or the deaths of security forces killed during clashes. The news agency accused those celebrities and leaders of inciting riots by expressing their support.

Canada said it “stands with the brave people of Iran” in a statement on social media that strongly condemned the killing of protesters during widespread protests that have rocked the country over the past two weeks.

“The Iranian regime must halt its horrific repression and intimidation and respect the human rights of its citizens,” Canada’s government said on Monday.

Iran’s foreign minister claimed Monday that “the situation has come under total control” after a bloody crackdown on nationwide protests in the country.

Abbas Araghchi offered no evidence for his claim.

Araghchi spoke to foreign diplomats in Tehran. The Qatar-funded Al Jazeera satellite news network, which has been allowed to work despite the internet being cut off in the country, carried his remarks.

Iran’s foreign minister alleged Monday that nationwide protests in his nation “turned violent and bloody to give an excuse” for U.S. President Donald Trump to intervene.

Abbas Araghchi offered no evidence for his claim, which comes after over 500 have been reported killed by activists -- the vast majority coming from demonstrators.

Iran has summoned the British ambassador over protesters twice taking down the Iranian flag at their embassy in London.

Iranian state television also said Monday that it complained about “certain terrorist organization that, under the guise of media, spread lies and promote violence and terrorism.” The United Kingdom is home to offices of the BBC’s Persian service and Iran International, both which long have been targeted by Iran.

A huge crowd of demonstrators, some waving the flag of Iran, gathered Sunday afternoon along Veteran Avenue in LA’s Westwood neighborhood to protest against the Iranian government. Police eventually issued a dispersal order, and by early evening only about a hundred protesters were still in the area, ABC7 reported.

Los Angeles is home to the largest Iranian community outside of Iran.

Los Angeles police responded Sunday after somebody drove a U-Haul box truck down a street crowded with the demonstrators, causing protesters to scramble out of the way and then run after the speeding vehicle to try to attack the driver. A police statement said one person was hit by the truck but nobody was seriously hurt.

The driver, a man who was not identified, was detained “pending further investigation,” police said in a statement Sunday evening.