Tag: WTO

If It Is Monday It Must Be WTO!

First, this is not some post about some moronic wrestling federation extravaganza….no I am talking about the World Trade Organization (WTO)….or some of you old farts might remember it as GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade)…..but what the Hell is it?

The WTO was born out of negotiations, and everything the WTO does is the result of negotiations. The bulk of the WTO’s current work comes from the 1986–94 negotiations called the Uruguay Round and earlier negotiations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The WTO is currently the host to new negotiations, under the ‘Doha Development Agenda’ launched in 2001.

Where countries have faced trade barriers and wanted them lowered, the negotiations have helped to open markets for trade. But the WTO is not just about opening markets, and in some circumstances its rules support maintaining trade barriers — for example, to protect consumers or prevent the spread of disease.

https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/who_we_are_e.htm

I know you are probably thinking that this has nothing to do with you…well you would be wrong for Our Dear Leader if successful could make your living a lot more expensive than today……

He, Dear Leader, has declared a possible war on the WTO……

Shape up or we’ll ship out. That was essentially the message President Trump had for the World Trade Organization in an interview with Bloomberg on Thursday. Trump described the 1994 agreement that formed the WTO as “the single worst trade deal ever made” and issued his threat: “If they don’t shape up, I would withdraw from the WTO.” The body sets rules for global trade and serves as a forum for handling trade disputes, and Trump complained about the historical outcome of those complaints. He had this to say: “We rarely won a lawsuit except for last year. In the last year, we’re starting to win a lot. You know why? Because they know if we don’t, I’m out of there.”

The BBC cites a study that shows the reality is more like 90/90: We win about 90% of the cases we bring, and lose just shy of 90% of those filed against us. As for the cases filed against us, ones from China have made recent headlines. The AP reports Beijing on Monday formally sought “dispute consultations” over the latest round of tariffs—$16 billion of them—imposed last week on Chinese goods. China is a thorn, per US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, who views China’s 2001 entry into the body as a mistake. Bloomberg’s take: “A US withdrawal from the WTO potentially would be far more significant for the global economy than even Trump’s growing trade war with China.” In the meantime, the US has been blocking the appointment of new judges, which could ultimately put the WTO’s ability to issue judgments on ice. Click for more on Trump’s wide-ranging interview.

As this policy expands items will becoming more expensive and in some cases more difficult to obtain and that could influence the production in this country…and for what?

Some minor machismo for the news cycle…….for he must be the talk of the town whether good or bad…..

Closing Thought–03Jul18

You know that there is humor in DC….you just have to know where to look…..

For months now the big story has been the tariffs that Trump has decided to punish our allies and neighbors with…….his newest attempt…….

Take the Fair & Reciprocal Tariffs Act……what shall we call it for short?  How about the FART Act?

President Trump is no fan of the World Trade Organization, and Axios reports that he ordered his advisers to work up a bill that would give him broad power to circumvent WTO rules and negotiate his own deals. The story by Jonathan Swan uses the words “insane” and “stunning” to describe the bill’s scope, though it adds that the measure has virtually no chance of becoming reality. Trump reportedly was briefed on the working draft in May. CNN confirms the existence of the leaked proposal, called the United States Fair and Reciprocal Tariff Act. And, yes, the emergence of that name has led to a barrage of social media jokes and commentary about the FART Act, notes the Guardian. “WTO has its flaws, but the ‘United States Fair and Reciprocal Tariff Act,’ aka the U.S. FART Act, stinks,” writes Anthony Scaramucci. “American consumers pay for tariffs.”

And this from a New York Post staffer: “As an editor who writes some headlines at the NY Post can I just say I’m really psyched about the FART Act,” writes Seth Mandel. The Axios report says most of the Trump officials who worked up the proposal think it’s unrealistic, and that has led to speculation that staffers gave it the unfortunate acronym on purpose, notes Business Insider. A White House spokesperson confirmed that Trump asked his team to work up ideas to “remedy” what he sees as unfair trade laws. “The only way this would be news is if this were actual legislation that the administration was preparing to roll out, but it’s not,” says Lindsay Walters. “Principals have not even met to review any text of legislation on reciprocal trade.”

You just cannot make up this shit……DC has better than the Late Nite TV shows……they do it all to themselves……gotta love it.

Following the close of a second quarter that will be best remembered by President Trump’s vacillations on trade, Axios has dropped a Sunday night bombshell that may spook markets hoping for a respite from the daily escalating trade war rhetoric as the second half of the year begins: White House reporter Jonathan Swan has obtained a copy of a draft bill, purportedly ordered by Trump himself, that would allow the US to “walk away” from its commitments to the World Trade Organization.

http://theantimedia.com/trump-blow-up-world-trade-organization/

Good times coming!