AFP, Geneva

The International Labour Organization, the UN’s labour agency, has scrapped the appointment of Trump administration official Sheng Li as its deputy director-general over Washington’s failure to pay its dues.

The agency’s director-general Gilbert Houngbo “has decided to rescind the appointment of the deputy director-general, considering continued delays in the payment of arrears”, the ILO said in a statement.

“Mr Sheng Li (United States of America) will therefore not assume the position of deputy director-general in July as previously foreseen.”

Li is a high-level official at the US Department of Labor. His appointment to the Geneva-based ILO was announced in April.

As of June 1, the United States had accumulated arrears of more than 173 million Swiss francs ($220 million) in ILO membership contributions for the past two years, according to data on the agency’s website. Washington must also pay its 2026 dues, amounting to nearly 84 million Swiss francs.

The United States is not the only country behind on its payments to the ILO.

The decision to drop Li “is without prejudice to the possibility of the United States settling its arrears and thereby regaining its position as the largest contributor in assessed contributions.