In addition to longstanding arrears to multiple United Nations-affiliated international organizations, the United States has also fallen behind on its membership dues to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in recent years.
According to reports dated May 1, a WTO document reveals that as the U.S. has again defaulted on its payments, and an increasing number of member states have failed to pay their dues on time, the WTO is preparing to reduce its expenditures by approximately 10%. Proposed measures include a hiring freeze and reductions in short-term staff.
However, it is understood from authoritative sources that the U.S. remains highly active in a series of recent internal WTO meetings, actively voicing its positions on issues such as subsidies and countervailing duty investigations.
The U.S. is currently listed among ten members in "Category One arrears," meaning it has defaulted on payments for at least one year but less than two, according to internal documents from the WTO's Budget, Finance, and Administration Committee dated March 12 and February 18. This situation further exacerbates the WTO's growing financial strain. It remains unclear when, or if, the U.S. will settle this payment.
In March, U.S. Trade Representative Greer stated that following the deadlock at the ministerial conference in Cameroon, the WTO would play a limited role in future global trade policy. The U.S. intends to advance its trade agenda instead through regional, bilateral, and, when necessary, unilateral channels.
Professor Zhu Jiejin from the Department of International Politics at Fudan University previously explained that while the U.S. is dissatisfied with the WTO system, there is limited scope for it to reform the organization. He suggested that if the U.S. can establish more small multilateral/bilateral mechanisms like the USMCA and build momentum, it may adopt a tougher stance within the WTO.
Under WTO rules, any member failing to pay dues for over one year faces "administrative measures," a series of escalating penalties that become stricter with the duration of the delay. Members currently in the first category of penalties, like the U.S., are barred from chairing WTO body meetings and are denied access to certain official documents.
The U.S. was previously listed as a "Category One" delinquent member in 2025 but was removed from the list by the end of that year after making a payment, according to a WTO document dated February 13. At that time, the U.S. had been in an eight-month standoff with the WTO over dues before paying over $25 million in arrears in October 2025, which it stated covered its 2024 obligations.
A separate WTO document from March indicates the U.S. has returned to the "Category One" list. Another assessment based on data from the end of December shows the U.S. owes the WTO 23.09 million Swiss francs, accounting for approximately 11% of the organization's annual budget, a figure similar to its 2024 arrears of 23.20 million Swiss francs.
While advance payments from some members provided "much-needed cash flow" for the WTO in early 2026, the document stresses that outstanding arrears need to be settled "as soon as possible."
The WTO has proposed a series of cost-saving measures, including cutting 39 short-term full-time positions, freezing the hiring of staff on fixed-term contracts, increasing the use of low-cost interns, and reducing electricity costs.
The organization was already facing its most severe arrears crisis in a decade by the end of 2025, with 20 members subject to administrative measures. A report from the Budget Committee meeting on March 2 stated, "To cope with this situation, the Secretariat plans to cut expenditures by 10% in 2026."
A statement issued by the Chairman of the Budget Committee on March 12 indicated that 29 members, including the U.S., are now subject to administrative penalties.
Furthermore, according to a document dated February 18, the WTO has proposed reducing its member-approved 2026 budget from 204.9 million Swiss francs (approximately $263 million) to 183.4 million Swiss francs to cover a funding gap before dues are received. This revised budget will be discussed at the WTO General Council meeting in Geneva on May 6.
Using the available 2024 WTO annual budget of 205 million Swiss francs (approximately $232.06 million) as an example, the budget breakdown includes eight expenditure items. The largest component is "staff expenditures" at 135 million Swiss francs, accounting for over 65% of the total budget. Other items include temporary personnel costs, general services, travel and hospitality, implementation partner costs, capital expenditures, financial expenditures, and contributions to the International Trade Centre and special reserves.
Previous U.S. payment delays have already impacted the WTO's daily operations. The WTO placed the U.S. on its list of members in arrears in accordance with financial regulations and notified the General Council in February and May 2025. At that time, the U.S. arrears severely affected the daily work of the WTO Secretariat, forcing most technical assistance activities to move online or be canceled.
Separately, recent reports suggest the U.S. intends to leverage the payment of "a significant portion of its 2026 UN assessed contribution" to pressure the UN to implement a series of so-called "quick-win" reform measures.
In response, UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated on April 30 that paying dues is a mandatory obligation for UN member states and is not subject to negotiation. While the UN needs reform, he emphasized that these are separate matters.
The U.S. has a long history of拖欠 dues to various international organizations. According to recent public data: as of early February this year, the U.S.累计拖欠 the UN approximately $4.6 billion, covering the regular budget, peacekeeping operations, and international tribunals; it拖欠 UNESCO over $600 million; and upon withdrawing from the World Health Organization, it left outstanding dues of $278 million for the 2024-2025 biennium.
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