President Trump appears to be challenging the World Trade Organization. He started by staffing his trade team with longtime WTO detractors. That includes U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Gilbert Kaplan, who’s been nominated as the trade point man at the Commerce Department. R-CALF CEO Bill Bullard says his group is encouraged by that along with Trump’s recent opposition to the seating of WTO judges.
He says there have been problems in the past with judges seated at the WTO, the most notable involved the debate over U.S. country of origin labeling.
Bullard says even though the President is challenging the WTO, he hasn’t shown any sign of withdrawing from it. Yet he’s hopeful that will eventually happen.
By the end of this year, the WTO will have three vacancies on their seven-member appellate body.
