TA的每日心情 | 奋斗 2024-9-10 21:08 |
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闯王的贸易政策要出炉了,基调:踢开WTO闹革命
WASHINGTON—The Trump administration is developing a national trade policy that would seek to diminish the influence of the World Trade Organization in the U.S. and champion U.S. law as a way to take on trading partners it blames for unfair practices, according to a draft document reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
The policy, contained in a draft document due to be published as early as Wednesday, represents a dramatic departure from the Obama administration, which emphasized international economic rules and the authority of the WTO, a body that regulates trade and resolves disputes among its members.
By contrast, the new Trump administration will more assertively defend U.S. national sovereignty over trade policy, ramp up enforcement of U.S. trade laws, and use “all possible sources of leverage to encourage other countries to open up their markets,” according to the document.
President Donald Trump defeated Republican rivals and beat Hillary Clinton based in part on strong rhetoric on trade. Still, some business groups and Republicans who back traditional trade policy have hoped the new administration would moderate its most protectionist policies.
But the administration sees a clear mandate to change its approach. “The American people grew frustrated with our prior trade policy not because they have ceased to believe in free trade and open markets, but because they rejected the way in which the framework of rules governing international trade operates,” the document says.
Congress requires the president to submit the administration’s trade policy annually by March 1, according to U.S. law. The framework is a signal to lawmakers, businesses and trading partners about how the administration plans to carry out its policies. Several business leaders and congressional aides were briefed on the trade-policy blueprint and are aware of the draft document’s contents.
In the face of Republican concerns, a congressional aide said language in the draft challenging the WTO could still be toned down in a final, public version.
The policy mainly spelled out a broad approach to dealing with trading partners—including China, South Korea and Mexico, where the U.S. has trade deficits—and the global trading system as a whole, via the Geneva-based WTO.
The outcome of two important test cases at the WTO could help determine the Trump administration’s attitude toward the international trading system, trade lawyers say.
The first is a challenge China brought when the U.S. failed to grant the country “market economy” status in December on the 15th anniversary of the country’s membership in the WTO. By not granting Beijing that status, the U.S. can continue calculating punitive tariffs on allegedly dumped Chinese goods in ways that are often disadvantageous to Chinese companies.
The second is a case the Obama administration brought that challenges China’s subsidies for aluminum production. The WTO has only limited rules to prevent subsidies, and a ruling for China in that case could lead the Trump administration to look for other measures to challenge Chinese subsidies.
“Americans are subject only to U.S. law not to WTO decisions,” the draft document reads. “The Trump administration will aggressively defend American sovereignty over matters of trade policy.” |
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