I am old enough to remember the stir caused by the novel (and later the movie) “The Ugly American,” published in 1958.

It had to do with the American presence in the fictitious Southeast Asia country of Sarkhan, which was enmeshed in cold war rivalry. While one of the physically ugly characters was actually sort of a hero, doing missionary work in the field, the actual “villains” in the book were American diplomats, more interested in cocktails and schmoozing than really getting to know the country, its people, and its language.

Knowing that, the Soviet ambassador — who had learned the history of the country and its language — changed the labels on sacks of rice sent from the U.S.A. to help relieve a famine. Instead of indicating that the rice was coming from America, the labels now said “Gift of Russia.” Not knowing the language, the Americans in Sarkhan were none the wiser.

It seems to me that the Trump administration’s cutbacks on the U.S. Agency for International Development will have the same effect, damaging America’s credibility worldwide while giving Russia and China free rein in any number of countries. This will hurt our exports and our international reputation.

A lot of damage has occurred already. Let’s hope that various judges can forestall and reverse this unfortunate turn of events.

Edward Walworth, Lewiston