President Donald Trump has been very clear: the United Nations has the potential to deliver better results for the people of the world.
In an effort to achieve this, the State Department has launched its new Trade Over Aid Initiative. It signifies an important shift from the old way of doing business, said U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz in recent remarks. The initiative proposes an economic development model that moves the emphasis from government-to-government aid to private sector mutually beneficial business partnerships. The initiative brings together UN Member States, private sector entities, and UN agencies with the goal of creating a business enabling environment through pro-economic growth and free market policies.
It is important to note that this initiative is strictly focused on economic development not humanitarian assistance. The United States remains the world’s largest humanitarian aid provider, as demonstrated by the December 2025 pledge of $2 billion to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
But old models of development aid have clearly fallen short. Billions of dollars in development assistance has gone to projects that have demonstrated little progress, or worse, have created dependency traps for recipient countries, warned Ambassador Waltz.
Dependence on government aid for development is simply unsustainable, he added. That’s why the United States is shifting its focus by emphasizing that sovereign nations must have ownership over their economic development and trajectory. Each nation must chart its own path to progress by mobilizing its human, financial, and natural resources and create a pro-business, pro-growth environment.
Moreover, development aid from countries and other sources should lead to self-reliance instead of dependence.
And finallly, free market principles remain the best proven path to lasting prosperity. Non-market economic models have not been successful long-term. History is clear: free-market policies far outpace the economic performance of other models. Central to the winning free market formula are limited regulation, low taxation, multiple energy sources, private property rights, sanctity of contracts, and a trusted judiciary.
Multilateral institutions will have a role in this, said Ambassador Waltz, including the UN Development Program, the World Bank, with International Monetary Fund, among others.
“At its core,” said Ambassador Waltz, “these initiatives come down to a simple idea: nations should get into the business of doing business together.”