Is the US about to withdraw from the WTO?

US President Donald Trump. Photo: Reuters

“We will leave if we have to. We know they have treated us badly for years and years and it will not happen again,” Mr. Trump said at a chemical plant in Pennsylvania.

The WTO has been a frequent target of Mr Trump’s attacks in recent times. The US President believes that the organisation has unfairly treated the US and declared that Washington does not need to comply with the organisation’s rulings.

The White House chief has been particularly critical of the terms the WTO accorded China when it joined the organization, and has accused Beijing of stealing American technology. However, the US has in fact won many trade disputes thanks to WTO rulings.

While calling for reforms to the WTO’s rules, the Trump administration has also been accused of paralyzing the organization. Washington has blocked the addition of new members to the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body’s appeals panel, potentially leading to the system ceasing to function by the end of the year.

Trade expert Chad Bown of the US-based Peterson Institute for International Economics said moves to weaken the WTO had caused “lasting damage” that would be difficult to recover.