Economics
U.S. Presses Case to Defang the Global Economy’s Trade Referee
- U.S. said to fund the WTO through 2020, delay decision on 2021
- U.S. seeks to cap annual spending for appellate body members
This article is for subscribers only.
Sixteen years ago, a brash trade lawyer named Robert Lighthizer was nominated to represent the U.S. at the World Trade Organization’s appellate body, which officiates disputes that affect billions of dollars in commerce every year.
WTO members, however, chose a different candidate. And now Lighthizer, as the U.S. Trade Representative in Washington, is arguing that the very dispute settlement system he nearly became a part of either needs to be drastically reformed or dismantled.