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

Thu, 30 Jan 2020

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 Taiwan Sun.

More Information

10 ℃

Fair in Taipei/Songshan

Business

Section

Hong Kong Hang Seng sinks, elsewhere stocks indecisive

SYDNEY, Australia - Shares in Hong Kong plunged more than 600 points in afternoon trading on Wednesday, the first Chinese ...

Suit filed against Total for failure to limit global warming

PARIS - In a groundbreaking case in France, energy giant Total is being sued for allegedly failing to adequately fight ...

Stocks back in good books, Dow Jones jumps 186 points

NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks were mostly higher on Tuesday after sharp falls on Monday.Stocks rebounded across the ...

PwC quits Angolan companies accused of looting government funds

As he faces charges of misusing more than $1 billion in state funds, the husband of Angolan billionaire Isabel dos ...

Sellers remain in charge on Asian bourses Tuesday

SYDNEY, Australia - Stocks in Asia remained in sell-mode on Tuesday, a day after stock market falls were felt across ...

Nike puts sale of Kobe Bryant gear on hold

Nike on Monday suspended the sale of Kobe Bryant merchandise on its online store, multiple outlets reported.According to ESPN, a ...

International

Section

Irish government 'deeply concerned' at Israeli annexation plans

DUBLIN, Ireland - The government of Ireland says it is 'deeply concerned' over comments by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ...

Suit filed against Total for failure to limit global warming

PARIS - In a groundbreaking case in France, energy giant Total is being sued for allegedly failing to adequately fight ...

In surprise move Netanyahu withdraws application for immunity

TEL AVIV, Israel - Israel's Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit filed an indictment on Tuesday charging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in ...

PwC quits Angolan companies accused of looting government funds

As he faces charges of misusing more than $1 billion in state funds, the husband of Angolan billionaire Isabel dos ...

Palestinians angered by Trump plan for Mideast peace

Palestinian prime minister Mohammed Shtayyeh on Monday urged international powers to boycott US President Donald Trump's "peace plan" which they ...

Survivors recount horrors of the Holocaust

When the Nazis invaded Poland, overnight, nine-year-old Theodor Meron became "a refugee, out of school, out of childhood and constantly ...

Movie Review

Loving Vincent