The Trump administration has laid out a lengthy list of its complaints and demands for changes in the World Trade Organization’s appellate body five months ahead of the WTO’s twelfth ministerial meeting.
WTO member nations have been growing increasingly alarmed as the U.S. continues to block the appointment of new appellate body judges in a show of anger over what the it considers deep flaws in the system. The appeals court ceased to function in December due the U.S. preventing the appointment of new judges.
WTO Director General Roberto Azevêdo traveled to the U.S. earlier this month to deliver the message that he was ready to work with the U.S. on its demands for reform, but stressed that he needed a clear outline of U.S. complaints. That is what appears to be in the 174-page report released by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative Tuesday evening.
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Among the long list of gripes ranging from judges being asked to stay on despite the end of their terms to late rulings, the USTR aimed some of its ire at what it considers preferential treatment for non-market economy countries like China.
Several interpretations by WTO appeals judges “have directly harmed the ability of the United States to counteract economic distortions caused by non-market practices of countries like China that hurt our citizens, workers, and businesses,” the report concludes.
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