President Trump Threatens to Withdraw U.S. From the World Trade Organization 'If They Don't Shape Up

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Bloomberg News

By JOHN MICKLETHWAIT, MARGARET TALEV AND JENNIFER JACOBS / BLOOMBERG 4:51 PM EDT

(Bloomberg) — President Donald Trump said he would pull out of the World Trade Organization if it doesn’t treat the U.S. better, continuing his criticism of a cornerstone of the international trading system.

“If they don’t shape up, I would withdraw from the WTO,” Trump said Thursday in an interview with Bloomberg News at the White House.

A U.S. withdrawal from the WTO would severely undermine the post-World War II multilateral trading system that the U.S. helped build.

Trump said last month that the U.S. is at a big disadvantage from being treated “very badly” by the WTO for many years and that the Geneva-based body needs to “change their ways.”

Read more: http://time.com/5383420/trump-world-trade-organization/

[NurseJackie]

1. Can he unilaterally do that? Or is there any oversight from Congress?

[PSPS]

8. No, but the KGOP will go along.

[sandensea]

2. The biggest problem with the WTO are their supranational courts to resolve trade disputes

Like the TPP, and as long as they insist on maintaining those, the WTO will always be one of the most hated institutions in the planet.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

4. Without that settlement mechanism there is no WTO and trade disputes will get out of hand

... all over the world. Those dispute mechanisms have generally favored the US because it generally uses less support and generally plays by the rules as well as and better than most.

Until Trump.

Who thinks that a six-front trade war is not big enough for him, so he wants to take on the rest of the world. The rest of the world might just keep the WTO and cut Trumpistan-Trumpian-USA out entirely. Trade around the USA.

Trump Slump will come sooner that way.

[GulfCoast66]

11. Why is it so hated?

Because nationalist on the right and left us it as a scape goat to build fear in their population.

Seems to have worked on you.

Unless you want no holds barred trade it is the best thing going.

We will rue the day we opted out of TPP.

[sandensea]

12. Try telling that to the voters.

Supranational courts, the TPP (not really a trade deal), and trade deals themselves, have become a Godsend to the GOP as far as peeling away voters from us.

Right or wrong, all they had to do persuade them that Democrats are all for them.

[sdfernando]

3. This seems to be his only negotiating tactic

Threatening to leave the organization???....really?...thats all you got?

Well if you pick up your ball and go home all the time, then no one is going to play with you...where does that get you?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

5. Yup. His Art of the Deal is 1) Make outrageous demands to start, 2) Threaten endless litigation.

It may work on second-tier NYC contractors especially if Cohen flexed a little Russian mafia muscle.

But now tRump is out of his league.

[ProudMNDemocrat]

6. Trump's wants to isolate the US on everything.

That is the fastest way to destroy the US Economy if we have no trade for our goods.

[Totally Tunsie]

10. Exactly. n/t

[beachbum bob]

7. Could putin be any happier?

[NurseJackie]

9. They'll be dancing in the streets in Moscow.