EU and Others Move WTO Ahead Without U.S.

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM – For the last few years, the Trump administration has been blocking appointments to a World Trade Organization (WTO) appellate court. The effort forced the WTO appellate body to cease hearing appeals in trade disputes between member countries. Now, according to media reports, the European Union (EU) and other members have created a new and interim appeal court. The new appeal court will consist of a pool of ten judges who will hear appeals to trade cases. The United States has been leveraging the appeals court situation in hopes of forcing what Trump says is vital and timely reforms. To date, the U.S. has been the subject of more trade disputes than any other nation and until recently, had lost most of the challenges – including a challenge to the U.S. cotton program under the 2002 Farm Bill.