Trump threatens to pull US from WTO 'if we have to'

News24
14 Aug 2019, 07:14 GMT+10

President Donald Trump threatened Tuesday to pull the United States out of the World Trade Organization if conditions are not improved.

"We will leave if we have to," Trump told a cheering audience of workers at a Shell chemical plant in Pennsylvania.

"We know that they have been screwing us for years and it's not going to happen again," he said.

Trump has made the WTO the target of many previous attacks, and threatened before to withdraw, claiming unfair treatment toward the US and saying Washington does not have to abide by WTO rulings.

He is especially critical about the terms granted to China when it joined the organization, given US complaints about Chinese theft of American technology.

But the United States in fact has a successful track record of winning disputes mediated by the global trading body.

While calling for reforms to the institution's rules, the Trump administration also has effectively paralyzed its work.

By blocking naming of new members to the appellate panel part of the Dispute Settlement Body that arbitrates disputes, the system will grind to a halt by the end of the year.

Chad Bown, a trade expert with the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said the moves weakening the WTO have done "lasting damage," not all of which can be reversed.

Watch latest videos

News RELEASES

Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Houston Mirror.

More Information

Business

Section

British pound falls on Brexit deal skepticism, Asian stocks mixed

SYDNEY, Australia - Shares in Japan were trending higher again Wednesday, following on from a more than 400-points rise on ...

Government-owned Turkish bank hit by U.S. justice department charges

WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. Justice has charged a state-owned Turkish bank with fraud, money laundering, and sanctions offenses related ...

Optimism on Brexit drive U.S., European markets higher

NEW YORK, New York - Optimism about a trade deal between the U.S. and China and increasing hopes Boris Johnson ...

San Francisco-based Patreon opens new European HQ in Dublin

DUBLIN, Ireland - Patreon, the crowdfunding membership and payment platform for independent artists is expanding its international footprint with the ...

Japanese shares in demad after 3-day break

SYDNEY, Australia - Japanese investors weighed into stocks on Tuesday, after an extended weekend break.Trading for the first since since ...

Skepticism on first phase of U.S.-China trade deal hits Wall St

NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks fell across the board on Monday, ending a run of 3 days of ...

International

Section