5 actions of Trump in 2025 that affected the Global South

Withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement

In January 2025, Trump signed a sweeping executive order (“Putting America First in International Environmental Agreements”) instructing the U.S. to withdraw immediately from the Paris Climate Agreement and rescind all U.S. pledges under UN climate accords. In practice, this meant cancelling tens of millions in promised climate finance. By March 2025, the administration also pulled U.S. funding out of multilateral “Just Energy Transition” partnerships with emerging economies (e.g. South Africa, Vietnam, Indonesia). Analysts note this created a funding gap – South Africa, for example, lost about $56 million in grants and $1 billion in planned investments as its total international climate pledge fell from $13.8B to $12.8B. These moves undermined Global South clean-energy projects (even large renewables like South Africa’s Selemela solar plant) and forced poorer countries to seek new funding sources.

Trade and tariff measures

Trump dramatically expanded U.S. trade barriers in 2025. Using Section 232 authority, he hiked tariffs on steel, aluminium and copper imports to 50% (and 25% on foreign autos). In April 2025, he also invoked emergency powers to impose a 10% “reciprocal” tariff on all imports not already covered by other sanctions. Critically, in July 2025, he signed an order suspending the longstanding “de minimis” duty exemption (which had let packages under $800 enter the U.S. duty-free). After August 2025, nearly all low‑value shipments (including small shipments of goods from China, Africa, or Latin America) began incurring duties. Economists warn these sweeping tariffs hurt exporters in the Global South (tariff conflicts even flared with neighbours like Canada and Mexico, raising costs on developing‑country goods and disrupting trade.

Cuts to foreign aid and development assistance

On Day 1 of his second term (Jan. 20, 2025), Trump ordered a 90‑day “realignment” of all U.S. foreign aid. In practice, this effectively dismantled USAID: many aid programs were merged into the State Dept or terminated, and the independent USAID agency was slated for elimination. By mid‑2025, the administration’s rescission budget proposal sought to claw back over $8 billion from foreign assistance (targeting global health, humanitarian, and development programs). The cuts hit Global South recipients hard: Africa alone had received roughly $12 billion in U.S. aid in FY2024. Loss of U.S. funding has forced many countries (e.g. in sub‑Saharan Africa and South Asia) to scramble for substitutes; public health campaigns, vaccine programs, and infrastructure projects previously backed by USAID are now under threat.

Migration and immigration restrictions

Trump tightened immigration rules affecting many in the Global South. In January 2025, he issued an order suspending the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program indefinitely, halting refugee resettlement from regions like Africa, Asia and Latin America. Later in 2025 (via proclamations in June and December), he expanded travel bans on foreign nationals from numerous developing countries. For example, a Dec. 16, 2025, proclamation extended full entry bans to countries including Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, Laos and Sierra Leone, and imposed new restrictions on citizens from Angola, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe and others. These measures blocked many migrants and visitors from the Global South. Also in 2025, Reuters reported that the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to remove Temporary Protected Status (TPS) from Venezuelan migrants.

Military and diplomatic initiatives in the Global South

Trump also pursued new security ties in Latin America. In December 2025, the administration announced it would designate Peru as a major Non‑NATO Ally. This special status grants Peru expanded privileges (easier purchase of U.S. military equipment and joint training programs) intended to strengthen counternarcotics cooperation. More broadly, a “Trump Corollary” to the Monroe Doctrine was unveiled in the 2025 National Security Strategy, declaring that “the American people – not foreign nations nor globalist institutions – will always control their own destiny in our hemisphere”. In practice, this has meant deeper U.S. military engagement in the Caribbean and Latin America (e.g. U.S. access to bases in the Dominican Republic, new Caribbean radar installations) to counter perceived threats. These moves signalled a reassertion of U.S. influence over Western Hemisphere nations.