U.S. State Department to close diplomatic missions in Canada, Japan, Indonesia, Cameroon and Grenada The State Department notified Congress it intends to close diplomatic facilities in Canada, Japan, Indonesia, Cameroon and Grenada, an action expected to represent one of the most significant reductions in the U.S. Diplomatic footprint abroad in recent years.
Sources familiar with the decision said late last week it had so notified congressional committees of the closures, which are said to include the embassy in St. George’s, Grenada, consulates in Nagoya, Japan; Medan, Indonesia, and Winnipeg, Canada; and the embassy’s branch office in Douala, Cameroon.
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While the State Department has declined to confirm the planned closures, a spokesman told Reuters the department “remains focused on ensuring the United States maintains an efficient and effective diplomatic presence abroad.”
The plan to close the missions is part of a broader restructuring aimed at streamlining the State Department’s global operations and cutting government costs.
It falls under the broader thrust of the Trump administration to pare back the federal bureaucracy as part of its “America First” program, as people involved with the review expressed concerns some abroad operations were no longer worth the expenditure and should focus on “higher-priority diplomatic activities.
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The proposed closures drew swift criticism, as critics warned it could curtail U.S. Global influence, creating windows for rivals such as China and Russia to increase their diplomatic reach in key areas. More consulates generally meant the provision of services for U.S. Citizens and companies overseas.
Nonetheless, Washington is engaged in an effort to expand diplomatic presence in elsewhere – it recently announced the reopening of the U.S. Embassy in Venezuela and is working to revive its diplomatic outposts in Libya and Syria. These would, if put into practice, be a rare pullback of U.S. Global influence by Trump.
