Trump threatens to withdraw US from World Trade Organization

Anca Alexe 31/08/2018 | 08:06

US President Donald Trump threatened to pull the country out of the World Trade Organization (WTO) “if they don’t shape up”, in an interview with Bloomberg.

The WTO was established to provide rules for global trade and resolve disputes between countries. However, Trump says the US has been treated unfairly by the organization.

He called the 1994 agreement to establish the WTO “the single worst trade deal ever made.” He has been criticizing the organization ever since he became president, at one point last year saying that “the WTO was set up to benefit everybody but us.”

The WTO advocates for an open trade system, clashing with the president’s protectionist trade policies.

Recently, the US has been blocking the election of new judges to the WTO’s dispute settlement system, which could hinder its ability to issue judgements.