Donald Trump, the President of the United States, is seen leaving after presenting the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy to the U.S. Naval Academy football team at the White House in Washington, D.C., on April 15, 2025. According to a Reuters report, the Trump administration is showing signs of reducing the size of embassies and consulates worldwide, including the consulate in Busan.
On the 15th (local time), the New York Times reported that the Trump administration is considering closing 10 embassies and 17 consulates, as well as reducing or consolidating staff at other foreign missions, based on an internal document from the U.S. State Department.
According to this document, six of the embassies under consideration for closure are located in Africa, including those in the Central African Republic, Eritrea, Gambia, Lesotho, the Republic of Congo, and South Sudan. The other two are in Europe (Luxembourg, Malta), with Grenada in the Caribbean and the Maldives in South Asia also being recommended for closure.
For consulates, the majority of which are in Europe where many American tourists visit, the Busan consulate in South Korea is also on the list for possible closure. While embassies are situated in the capitals of countries, consulates, often located in cities distant from the capital, mainly provide services to traveling nationals. In Europe, these include Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Rennes, and Strasbourg in France; Düsseldorf and Leipzig in Germany; Mostar and Banja Luka in Bosnia and Herzegovina; Thessaloniki and Florence in Italy; Ponta Delgada in Portugal; and Edinburgh in Scotland. Others are Medan in Indonesia, Douala in Cameroon, and Durban in South Africa.
Additionally, there is a suggestion to significantly reduce or eliminate the U.S. Embassy in Mogadishu, Somalia, and cut costs for diplomatic missions in Baghdad and Erbil, Iraq. It is also recommended to consolidate multiple consulates in countries like Japan and Canada into a single location.
This is interpreted as a move by the Trump administration, under the leadership of the government efficiency department headed by Elon Musk, to significantly downsize the federal government. However, there are concerns that if the measures proposed in this document are implemented, it could reduce the United States’ diplomatic footprint. Particularly in Africa and East Asia, where Chinese missions outnumber American ones, there is a significant possibility that the U.S.’s presence may weaken, the New York Times pointed out.