Jeffrey Sachs (on screen), director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, speaks at a UN Security Council Arria-Formula meeting at the UN headquarters in New York, April 23, 2025.

The United States is the least aligned nation with the United Nations-based multilateral system and is actively weakening international peace and development through unilateral economic policies, Sachs said on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Shi Chun)

UNITED NATIONS, April 23 (Xinhua) -- The United States is the least aligned nation with the United Nations-based multilateral system and is actively weakening international peace and development through unilateral economic policies, said a renowned American economist at the UN Security Council Arria-Formula meeting on Wednesday.

Speaking remotely from Rome, professor Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, began by affirming the importance of the meeting's theme - the defense and advancement of multilateralism.

"We are, of course, in a multipolar world where power is widely dispersed across the world, but we are not fully in a multilateral world because of the abuses of the international system," said Sachs.

Drawing on a study he published last year - the Index of Countries Support for UN-Based Multilateralism - Sachs said the United States ranked last among all 193 UN member states.

"The United States is the country least aligned with UN multilateralism," Sachs said, attributing this ranking to its frequent violations of international commitments, use of unilateral sanctions, and votes against majority positions in the UN General Assembly.

Sachs was particularly critical of the United States' imposition of tariffs under what he called false economic pretenses.

"President Trump claimed that the U.S. trade deficit is caused by other countries abusing the United States. That is simply not true," he said, adding the deficit stems from domestic factors - notably the U.S. government's large budget deficit and low national savings rate - not from unfair practices abroad.

"There is no excuse for these unilateral tariffs," Sachs said. "They are not remotely related to unfair practices. They violate multilateralism, and in my view, they also violate the U.S. Constitution, which gives the power to impose tariffs to Congress, not the president."

Sachs described the broader U.S. approach as "economic bullying," citing not only tariffs but a wide array of unilateral coercive measures - from sanctions on individuals and financial institutions to the confiscation of state assets - that have caused harm to vulnerable populations around the world.

"These measures deprive people of access to food, water, and healthcare," he said. "They raise mortality rates. They are not only illegal under the UN Charter but also morally indefensible."

Sachs criticized the United States' use of its currency as a tool of foreign policy. "The U.S. freezes the dollar holdings of countries like Russia, Venezuela, Iran, and Afghanistan. This is an abuse of the dollar's role in international settlements."

He also criticized the United States for blocking appointments to the World Trade Organization's appellate body since 2019. "Dispute settlements cannot take place because the United States is deliberately blocking the filling of positions," Sachs said. "That crucial rules-based institution cannot do its job."

On global security, Sachs said the U.S. military footprint and withdrawal from key arms treaties are heightening tensions and wastefully diverting resources.

"No other country comes close to the U.S. situation of 750 overseas military bases in 80 countries," he said. "This is highly detrimental to American security and a threat to global peace."

"We have come far too close to nuclear confrontation on several occasions. The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists tells us we are about 89 seconds from midnight," he said.

The consequences of unilateralism, Sachs warned, are "dire:" fractured trade systems, arms races, open conflict, and the erosion of the multilateral framework needed to address global challenges like climate change and sustainable development.

"International trade is not a win-lose proposition. It is a win-win proposition," he said. "When the United States and China trade, both benefit. When those relations are ruptured, both sides lose - and the poorest countries lose the most."

"We created the United Nations 80 years ago as a system of international law and respect. It is our responsibility to promote it. We must reverse course from unilateralism and actively uphold the UN Charter as the key to our safety, survival, and sustainable development," Sachs concluded. ■

Jeffrey Sachs (on screen), director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, speaks at a UN Security Council Arria-Formula meeting at the UN headquarters in New York, April 23, 2025.

The United States is the least aligned nation with the United Nations-based multilateral system and is actively weakening international peace and development through unilateral economic policies, Sachs said on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Shi Chun)