Community Events
January 8, 2023
Leibowitz: US Falls Out of Love With WTO Over Section 232
Written by Lewis Leibowitz
The United States lost a dispute in the World Trade Organization last month. This is hardly the first time. In this case, tariffs and other import restrictions on steel and aluminum imposed by President Trump in 2018 were found to violate WTO agreements.
The United States argued that its invocation of “essential security interests” was not reviewable at the WTO because those interests are totally within the discretion of the US (“self-judging”). The opposing parties (China, Norway, Switzerland, and Turkey) argued that the trade restrictions violated WTO agreements and that the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (“GATT”), the basic WTO document, did not excuse those violations.
