The Trump administration is withdrawing the United States from its longstanding participation in the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise (GFCE).
GFCE was created in 2015 in the Netherlands as a “multi-stakeholder platform to strengthen cyber capacity building and coordinate international efforts in cybersecurity, cybercrime, e-governance, and data protection, according to the group’s website, with the goal of bringing “together public and private partners for knowledge sharing and resource mobilization.”
The United States was a founding member of the group, which has claimed a membership of more than 60 organizations in recent months, including U.S. cybersecurity allies like the United Kingdom and Canada.
That U.S. membership is coming to an end following the release of a Jan. 7 presidential memorandum that orders disengagement from “International Organizations, Conventions, and Treaties that Are Contrary to the Interests of the United States.”
The memorandum, which cuts ties with more than 50 other organizations, does not elaborate on why GFCE membership is considered contrary to U.S. interests. The memorandum stems from an executive order signed by President Trump in February 2025.