U.S. trade policy is roiling markets. At the end of March, the U.S. stock market tumbled 700 points in a single day on news that President Trump would impose tariffs on Chinese exports. A degree of volatility and uncertainty has continued since then as the tariffs continue to make news. Canada, China, Europe, India, and Mexico are all preparing to retaliate.
What Trump’s Trade War Could Mean for the WTO and Global Trade
New rulings could open the door to protectionism under the guise of national security.
June 07, 2018
Summary.
U.S. trade policy is roiling markets, yet the global economy is not descending into chaos. That’s largely because the protagonists are more constrained than the headlines suggest. Indeed, the World Trade Organization (WTO) has put the lie to the threats of retaliation we read on almost a daily basis. In other words, the legal discipline of the WTO makes things more predictable than they appear. The bigger worry is what new WTO rulings might come out of these disputes and what they could mean for the future of the global trading system. If the WTO says yes to Trump’s tariffs, this will incentivize protectionism under the guise of national security.
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Learn how to overcome barriers when working globally.