Just as Trump pulled the US out of the WHO and Paris climate agreement, he can surely leave the WTO too. Why should other countries, accounting for 85-88% of world trade, not carry on without the US?
By declaring that the US will impose reciprocal import duties to create a “fair” trading system, US President Trump has crushed the rules of the post-World War 2 trading system, created first under General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), and later under the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
These rules provided, among other things, for ‘special and differential treatment’ (SDT) for developing countries, allowing them to maintain high tariffs even as rich countries cut theirs. The US took the lead in helping poorer countries to develop their infant industries with higher tariffs. Trump now decries that as “unfair.”
This article was originally published by The Times of India on Feb 15, 2025.
