Who are the "troublemakers" in WTO troubles?

(Financial World) Who is the "troublemaker" when the WTO is in trouble?

　　China News Agency, Beijing, January 4 (Reporter Li Xiaoyu) The World Trade Organization (WTO) is in a protracted crisis.

Scholars in Beijing believe that the United States is the "perpetrator" behind this crisis, and that to solve the WTO's difficulties, the United States must be brought back on track.

　　At the WTO General Council meeting held recently, WTO Director-General Iweala regretted that the organization failed to inspire new momentum.

She bluntly said that in the current difficult period when the world is facing economic slowdown, food and energy crises, climate change and persistent development challenges, the WTO cannot stand idly by, and "we have done nothing in the negotiations in the last 6 months."

　　The WTO's troubles are not just six months old.

Analysts said that behind the predicament is its own rules that cannot keep up with the changes in the situation, resulting in low efficiency of the negotiation mechanism and lower credibility. Many members have turned to bilateral and side-by-side trade agreement negotiations. fatal.

　　Gu Baozhi, director of the Institute of World Economics, Institute of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China, said that members' trust and respect for international organizations and compliance with treaties are the key to the survival and development of international organizations.

Any member's willful withdrawal or threat to withdraw is a blow to the authority of the international organization.

However, as a major country with important influence, the United States has lacked basic respect for the WTO in recent years, which poses a serious threat to the WTO.

　　Gu Baozhi said that the WTO struggled during the four years of former US President Trump's administration, almost achieved nothing, and its authority was greatly damaged.

The Biden administration has verbally emphasized the need for multilateralism, but in action it has launched a "new cold war" against countries such as China and Russia based on the Cold War mentality, which is a pseudo-multilateralism that divides the world.

　　In addition, the United States has repeatedly violated the basic rules of the WTO, such as providing special subsidies such as tax breaks for Boeing’s large civilian aircraft manufacturing project, and including discriminatory electric vehicle subsidy clauses in the Inflation Reduction Act.

　　Gu Baozhi said that the United States has generalized the concept of "national security", arbitrarily imposed tariffs on other WTO member countries, tried its best to suppress enterprises in other countries, engaged in technological blockade, decoupling and breaking chains, seriously disrupting the international economic and trade order and market rules, and affecting the supply of global industrial chains. The long-term security and stability of the chain poses a serious threat.

　　What's more serious is that the United States has repeatedly obstructed the selection of new members of the Appellate Body, causing the WTO Appellate Body to be paralyzed because the personnel cannot meet the minimum requirements.

Some foreign media commented that this is the "worst strategy" for the United States.

　　Tu Xinquan, director of the China WTO Research Institute of the University of International Business and Economics, pointed out that the reason why the United States has been seriously dissatisfied with the WTO in recent years is that the WTO system has been unable to meet the interests of the United States. The United States has a series of doubts about the basic principles and mechanisms of the WTO. Including questioning the ineffectiveness of the multilateral negotiation mechanism; questioning that the independent dispute settlement mechanism has damaged the sovereignty of the United States; questioning that the principle of special and differential treatment allows developing countries to "take advantage of the United States"; questioning that the current WTO system cannot effectively restrain the so-called "non-market economy" nation.

　　In Tu Xinquan's view, these doubts reflect the general "loser" mentality in American society.

As the strength of emerging economies grows, the US's dominant position is relatively weakened. This is a natural phenomenon in international competition, but the US finds it difficult to accept.

This mentality is reflected in behavior, which is a series of "America first", violation of rules, double standards and "decoupling and breaking chains".

　　It is worth noting that this mentality and behavior of the United States has caused "public outrage".

In the WTO’s review of trade policies with the United States recently, 32 WTO members raised more than 2,000 written questions to the United States, concerning the consistency of the US Inflation Reduction Act, the Chip and Science Act and related measures with WTO rules, and US government procurement. policy, generalized national security, etc.

　　Tu Xinquan said that although the WTO is facing severe challenges, the needs of countries to carry out close economic and trade cooperation have not changed and will not change.

Through the joint efforts of its members, the multilateral trading system can still fully demonstrate its vitality and continue to provide impetus for economic globalization.

Bringing the United States back to the normal track of win-win cooperation with the international community is an urgent task for both the United States and the world.

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