Trump Threatens to Leave WTO Trade Association. US President Donald Trump wants to withdraw the United States from the World Trade Organization (WTO). For that, Trump, who is not a fan of the WTO, needs a legislative amendment.
“He has threatened to get out of the WTO a hundred times,” says a source from inside the White House, who discussed the issue with Trump himself, against the American news website Axios, says Hope News.
The US president would have told his advisers several times that the US is “always being sewn” by the WTO. According to Trump, the trade organ has been designed by the rest of the world to bother the United States.
Trump’s advisers would try to explain to Trump that the US is more successful in the WTO than other countries. There, however, the president, who during his campaign was already very dissatisfied with the WTO, does not seem convinced.
Incidentally, Trump cannot decide to leave the WTO on his initiative. He can announce that, but for an actual departure, the Congress must implement a legislative amendment.
In acknowledgement of the taxes imposed by the Trump government on steel and aluminium, European government leaders in Brussels have confirmed higher import tariffs for a series of American products.
The EU does not consider the protectionist measures of ally US to justify and has filed an objection procedure with the World Trade Organization (WTO). The consultation between Brussels and Washington is now at a standstill.
The international trade system based on WTO rules must be maintained and strengthened, according to the leaders. Escalation is imminent, now that Trump is threatening higher import tariffs for European cars and car parts.
The European Commission has commissioned proposals intending to improving the functioning of the WTO. EC president Jean-Claude Juncker will soon be travelling to the US to talk with Trump about the disturbed trade relationship.