A White House official on Friday stated that he is not informed of any plans about the U.S. pulling out of the World Trade Organization (WTO), despite President Donald Trump regularly sharing his frustration with the international organization.
“I’m not familiar with any plans right now, at this point,” White House legislative affairs director Marc Short said.
Short’s remarks came in response to an Axios report saying Trump has privately told advisers he wants to leave the organization, a move that could put global trade and international markets into chaos.
Short added that “it’s fair to say” that Trump has grown frustrated with the WTO, which regulates global trade agreements.
“I think that the President’s expressed frustrations with international organizations from a sovereignty perspective, but I think that the President also believes that there are extensive tariffs assessed on American products overseas that’s not a reciprocal tariff,” Short said.
Trump has previously called the organization “unfair to the U.S.” and a “disaster for this country.”
According to Axios, several of Trump’s closest advisers have sought to persuade him to back off his threats, pointing out that the U.S. has won more than 85 percent of the WTO cases it has brought.
However, their argument has fallen on deaf ears, Axios wrote.
Trump recently imposed steep tariffs on steel and aluminum imports on allies such as Canada, Japan, and the European Union.
The tariffs triggered a round of retaliatory tariffs against the U.S.
Meanwhile, the EU and Canada have begun dispute proceedings at the WTO over the tariffs.
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