Belgium should no longer consider the United States, led by President Donald Trump, as a reliable ally, according to a leaked internal document from Belgium's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The ministry urged officials to cultivate ties with Trump's opponents to protect Belgian interests, according to the document seen by the Financial Times. The document was produced by the ministry's Caribbean and Americas team in late 2025, and called for a thorough re-evaluation of the relationship between Belgium and the US.
"It is now clear that the American partner is no longer the ally it has been in the past," FT quotes the document. "The dynamics currently at play in the United States… are likely to compromise several vital interests of Belgium and the European Union."
To counter the strain on engagement with the US government at the federal level, dialogue should be increased at the lower levels of government, with both Republican and Democratic states and mayors of large cities.
Officials should identify a "new generation of bipartisan elites" that would rise to the American political top in the future, the document states.
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The document implores playing to Belgian strengths in diplomacy with the US government: "We should not underestimate the respect that President Trump has for royal families."
Since the drafting of the document, dated 27 October 2025, the Belgian Royal Family has taken an active role in relations with the US, as King Philippe attended the World Cup in the United States in July of this year and Queen Mathilde has accompanied several Belgian ministers to New York for the UN General Assembly this week.
The document further identifies four fields in which Belgium should manage its engagement with the Trump-led government: economic relations, military spending, migration and the fight against drug trafficking and organised crime.
Economic partnerships should be diversified, as the country is vulnerable to "potential points of friction that might trigger new protectionist threats or restrictions."
Buying US weapons would be regarded positively by the Trump administration, but Belgium should increase the purchase of EU-made military material. Belgium should also increase its exchange of information with American agencies involved in the fight against drug trafficking, organised crime and terrorism.
However, the ministry notes that this fight is "treated like a military operation rather than a judicial one – raising questions for European police co-operation", while the fight against terrorism had been "politicised".
“There is a risk that shared information and extraditions could lead to death sentences in the US,” it added.
A spokesperson for the Belgian Foreign Ministry told FT that the document was an “internal working document” and that its contents “should be distinguished from an agreed policy strategy”.
