Donald Trump threatened to pull the US out of the World Trade Organization on Thursday, in a new attack on one of the pillars of global economic governance, as a deadline loomed for a deal to revamp Nafta and he faced a decision on expanding tariffs on Chinese imports.
“If they don’t shape up, I would withdraw from the WTO,” Mr Trump warned in an interview with Bloomberg News.
While Mr Trump has previously demanded better treatment from the WTO, amid complaints that it infringes on US sovereignty and the US does not always prevail in dispute settlement cases, the president’s explicit threat to withdraw will ratchet up tensions over the Geneva-based body to a higher level.