News

Trump administration: Less adherence to WTO

Indications from the Trump administration are that less adherence will be given by the U.S. to the World Trade Organization.  Media reports say the administration is considering alternatives to taking trade disputes to the trade enforcement body.  That’s considered a step away from the system that for decades has been the authority in resolving trade disputes.  The reports say the administration will rely instead on U.S. trade laws.  The U.S. Trade Representative’s office has been asked to come up with actions that could be taken against China while going around WTO dispute procedures.

The USTR’s 2017 Trade Policy Agenda takes specific aim at China’s 2001 accession into the WTO, pointing out the growth since then in the U.S. trade deficit with China in manufactured goods.

Trump has kept multilateral trade arrangements at arm’s length with his first action as president to pull the U.S. out the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement.