Many INGOs and English charities working in the humanitarian and international development sectors will be impacted by President Trump’s recent executive order, Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid. The order mandates a 90-day pause in U.S. foreign aid assistance, with a view to aligning US aid to President Trump’s foreign policy agenda: it was swiftly followed by stop-work orders for existing programmes.

With billions of dollars of US foreign assistance at stake, INGO leaders and legal teams will be responding rapidly to these events, which could have a significant impact on life-saving programmatic work, as well as wider organisational stability.

USAID contracts will be governed under US law, and many of our clients will be grappling with their terms to understand the extent to which they are impacted by recent developments, and what opportunities for recovery and challenge there might be.

In the UK, charities which benefit from USAID funding – whether directly or as part of an international federation – will be conscious of the additional regulatory and governance implications here. We know those organisations affected will be thinking of:

  • Crisis management and consideration of solvency risk, including assessing whether other funds can be reallocated to address funding gaps and how to pause programmes in the most responsible way
  • Employment law considerations and staff safety and security
  • How relationships with partner organisations and wider stakeholders may be impacted
  • Whether and how to seek to align programmes with shifts in US government policy during the suspension and review period
  • Governance implications, and ensuring appropriate trustee involvement and serious incident reporting

Organisations funded by USAID will be used to managing complex, high-compliance and high-value contracts. Despite the rapidly evolving situation, you may already have a clear picture of how your organisation is likely to be impacted, although we would be happy to introduce you to trusted advisors in the US if that would be helpful.

We recognise that this will be a disruptive and challenging time for your organisations. If it would be helpful to think through your overall approach, and the particular UK governance and regulatory overlay, our specialist International NGOs team at Bates Wells would be happy to offer a one-off consultation without charge. Please get in touch with Suhan Rajkumar or Stephanie Biden if we can support.