© 2018 by Robert Person.  The views expressed on this website are my own and do not represent the official policy of the U.S. Army, Department of Defense, or U.S. Government.

ronald.fricke
Feb 12, 2019

Global Trade tensions Boil Over at Staid W.T.O Forum

This article can be found at https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/19/business/wto-global-trade-tensions.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FWorld%20Trade%20Organization&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=collection


At the World Trade Organization, the Americans accused the Chinese of being modern-day mercantilists that steal intellectual property. While the Europeans accused the Americans of threatening the global economy. The most recent metting, allowed W.T.O members to explain their trade policies and for others to engage in talks to understand them. The talk of the meeting was American trade policies. Many of the participants believe that the new American trade policies under President Trump are illegal and destructive. Specifically, Marc Vanheukelen, the European Union's ambassador to the WTO stated that "the multilateral trading system is in a deep crisis and the United States is at its epicenter." The United States current policies revolve around the idea that America has been getting a raw deal on global markets and the trade rules have been against U.S. workers and businesses. The cause of the United States' trade policy is due to China's current trade policies and tactics.


This article connects to lesson 6 where we learned about the WTO and multilateral trade agreements. The three functions of the WTO is to be a dispute settlement mechanism, provides a forum for trade negotiations, and expresses the principles of world trade. This article connects to all three functions. The WTO in this article is serving as a forum for future trade negotiations regarding the European Union, China and the United States. Specifically, the members of the WTO met together to discuss the dispute of both American and Chinese trade policies. All countries want a solution that will benefit global trade, however the United States feels it is being treated unfairly and believes that China is essentially cheating. The fact that the United States believes they are being treated unfairly goes against the non discrimination principle and the idea that every member gets the same treatment. But at the same time, the United States is being accused of breaking trade rules and they have not been punished for it yet. Lastly, this article connects to the idea of politics in trade policy. Specifically, Trump has ran his campaign on bringing back jobs to America and doing an America first economy. In a democracy, those in charge of government positions appeal to the pressures of the people or they will be voted out of office. The policies that President Trump is implementing are due to the want for jobs back home.

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