Tariffs threaten global trade system
WASHINGTON - By justifying tariffs on steel and aluminum in the name of national security, President Donald Trump has threatened the global trading order.
For decades that order has been underpinned by the World Trade Organization, whose 164 member-states have agreed to abide by WTO rules for open trade and settling disputes. The United States has been the Switzerland-based group's chief architect in establishing the principles and procedures governing international trade.
Yet the Trump administration has repeatedly upbraided the organization as slow and incapable of resolving problems like China's mercantilist behavior. Moreover, unhappy with the outcome of many WTO decisions, the United States has blocked appointments of judges to fill vacancies, rendering the appellate body largely ineffective.
