22. Department of the Treasury · Minor
Zero out or exit international financial institutions counter to U.S. interests
Printed page 702 22. Department of the Treasury
“It should employ a carrot-and-stick approach by increasing its activity and commitment to those financial institutions that are willing and able to adjust to this new approach and by zeroing out or potentially exiting those institutions that rely on U.S. capital while advancing agendas that run counter to U.S. interests.”
What has happened
- Partially done
The stick was applied to one institution. Treasury notified the Green Climate Fund that the United States is withdrawing from the Fund and stepping down from its seat on the GCF Board, effective immediately, on the ground that "continued participation in the GCF has been determined to no longer be consistent with the Trump Administration's priorities and goals". One institution that relied on United States capital was exited; the World Bank, the IMF and the regional development banks were not, and Public Law 119-75 continued to fund the International Development Association and the IBRD.
- Attempted
The Secretary set out the carrot-and-stick posture this Quote asks for. In remarks to the Institute of International Finance on April 23, 2025 Scott Bessent said the Bretton Woods institutions "must be made fit for purpose again", that "mission creep has knocked these institutions off course", that the World Bank "should no longer expect blank checks for vapid, buzzword-centric marketing accompanied by half-hearted commitments to reform", and that the administration would "demand that the management and staff of these institutions be accountable for demonstrating real progress" — engagement conditioned on reform. A stated policy with nothing yet withdrawn.
Research log
What was searched, and what didn’t count as evidence
Research notes
Leveled partial under the open-ended-”all X” rule: a directive plus one documented instance of the thing being done. done would need the sweep to be complete or declared complete.
Chapter 22 #1966 (withdraw from the World Bank and the IMF) stays not started on the same record: those two institutions are still funded and were explicitly left off the administration’s January 2026 withdrawal list. The distinction is that this ask is selective and #1966 names two institutions.
- Action
- withdraw
- Object
- international financial institutions receiving U.S. capital
- ID
- 1971