The Daily Populous Monday March 24th, 2025 day edition
Authored by abc.net.au and submitted by ElectricTrouserSnack

Three European nations are seeking a refund from the Trump administration for funds they contributed to USAID projects that have remained unspent.

Government officials from Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands said a combined $US15 million ($24 million) they contributed for joint development work overseas had been parked at the US Agency for International Development for months.

The three countries, allies of the United States, provided the funds for USAID to spend on low-income countries in a project called Water and Energy for Food, or WE4F.

With the Republican administration and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cutting USAID's funding and the bulk of its programs, the Europeans have asked for a refund.

The three European nations are yet to hear back about their contributions. (AP Photo: Jose Luis Magana, File)

Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands initially sent USAID emails inquiring about the money they had contributed to the organisation's accounts.

A lack of response left the three nations frustrated, and they warned the US that they were looking at talking to media about their missing money.

"It's a concern for us, especially as we want our partner organisations to be compensated for the work they have put into the programs," said Julia Lindholm, a spokesperson for the Swedish government's international development agency.

In the government-to-government emails, it was made clear that other foreign governments had also given money to USAID for distribution, according to an official directly familiar with the matter who was not authorised to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The US State Department and USAID did not immediately respond to questions asking how many foreign governments had money for joint development programs going unspent.

Nor did it comment on any contributions from allies that were yet to be refunded in the USAID funding freeze and how much money that totalled.

Under a court order, the administration has started making good on some $US2 billion already owed since US President Donald Trump ordered a freeze on USAID and State Department foreign assistance on the day of his inauguration.

Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands had been partnering with USAID on a project called Water and Energy for Food, or WE4F.

The project is a joint initiative from Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the European Union and USAID.

The aim of the project is to help farmers and others in poorer countries develop innovative ways to grow more food without straining water supplies.

The US 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", Ms Lindholm added in an email sent to the Associated Press.

She called the WE4F program "extraordinarily impactful", with measurable benefits for farmers and others many times greater than the program's initial targets.

Sweden's development agency said it estimated it had $US12 million total, including $US5.1 million for WE4F, sitting in USAID accounts.

Millions estimated to die following Trump's aid freeze Photo shows A Somali girl in a refugee camp next to a large tin can bearing the US Aid logo, she is looking into the distance There are fears millions of people could die from preventable diseases after Donald Trump signed an executive order halting billions of dollars worth of USAID.

The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation confirmed it had not received information about the fate of a $US1.4 million contribution it made to WE4F since the USAID dissolving began.

And the Dutch Foreign Ministry said it reached out to the US aid agency to ask how much of the $US1.6 million it had given for WE4F was yet to be disbursed by USAID and should be refunded.

All three confirmed there had been no clarification from any representative from USAID or the US government.

The nations added that they were working with donor partners to explore "other opportunities to continue to run the WE4F program".

Biliunas on March 24th, 2025 at 08:37 UTC »

Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands are the countries in case you're wondering.

QiTriX on March 24th, 2025 at 06:25 UTC »

A Trump never repays his debt

macross1984 on March 24th, 2025 at 06:00 UTC »

And Trump will likely not oblige because at this point he has thrown the gauntlet at his former allies.