US disgraceful to undermine WTO
Due to
US obstruction, the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization (WTOAB) will
likely be unable to function on Wednesday, December 11. Normally consisting of
seven judges, the WTOAB has been operating with only three judges, the bare
minimum, since January 2018, and two of those judges will retire Tuesday.
The
WTOAB is the most essential tool used to ensure fair trade, and now Washington
has successfully upended it.
The
appellate body was created when the WTO was founded in 1995. Its prominent
feature lies in its independence as the body is free from political
interference. WTO members, regardless of size, are entitled to equal rights of
petition and defense.
As the
US lost many appeals at the appellate level, their dissatisfaction with the
legal body increased. Dissolving this court has been a conspicuous goal since
US President Donald Trump took office.
The
looming demise of the WTOAB will inevitably cause smaller economies to suffer,
as the law of the jungle will return. Although members can negotiate disputes
in accordance with WTO rules, without a presiding authorized appellate body, it
will be easier for powerful countries to gain the upper hand during such
disputes.
The US
continues to advance its hegemony at the global level. Previous US moves were
more about compelling specific countries and some US-led groups to make
concessions. Now the US is blatantly forcing the WTO, a supposed international
organization, to focus on its national interests.
When WTO
members reveal an unwillingness to cooperate, the US stops key WTO sections.
If China
was a superpower and behaved the same way - undercutting the UN Climate Action,
withdrawing from UNESCO, tearing up the Iran nuclear deal, launching
large-scale trade wars, retreating from the most significant arms control
treaty and undermining the WTOAB, how would Western public opinion slam China?
There
are also complaints about Washington’s moves among Western public opinion,
which are barely heard however. Be it London, Paris, Berlin, or Tokyo, Seoul,
Ottawa, everyone has remained silent, indulging the US wanton actions of
undermining world order and transforming it to serve its “America first”
policy.
Nobody
can check the US, but the country will eventually be punished by the rules. US
national interests have extended worldwide. An orderly world is more in line
with its interests, a highly internationalized country, than a world full of
uncertainties. The US actions will increase the expense of realizing its
national interests in the long term.
The US
political system determines the outside world cannot expect the country to
quickly overcome political irrationality. Facing US disruption, the
international community needs to consider realistic approaches to uphold
multilateralism and reduce losses.
Other
major countries have never truly united when the US has acted unreasonably, nor
have they joined hands to make the US pay for its unilateral actions. The main
reason is that powers like the EU and Japan are too afraid of the US. They don’t
even dare to condemn US unilateralism through public opinion.
WTO is a
multilateral infrastructure platform affecting many countries’ interests. Once
the appellate body ceases, can major countries bypass the US to form some
alternative arbitration mechanism, allowing the WTO’s main framework and
functions to continue and allowing most disputes to be resolved in a fair and
reasonable manner? When the US bullies weaker countries, major WTO members
should at least provide moral support.
The US
is the most powerful country in the world and yet it is the number one
destroyer of order. This is the misfortune of the 21st century. The
international community cannot change US attitudes. Thus, the real challenge
for the future of globalization is to strengthen coordination and mitigate US
influence.
The article is an editorial of
the Global Times. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn
US disgraceful to undermine WTO
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