The Trump Administration’s approach to trade policy can be characterized as power politics. It has withdrawn the benefit of accessing the large American market to coerce improved terms of trade. In its current effort to reform the use of special and differential (S&D) treatment in the WTO, it has used the more traditional approach of intellectual persuasion. USTR Robert Lighthizer is personally meeting with beneficiary countries and asking them to forgo S&D treatment in future negotiations (not past agreements). Since the poorest of countries have defended S&D for all including advanced economies, one would have expected a threat to deny S&D to all countries unless the smaller subset of more advanced countries agrees t...

TAGS – Asia, North America, South America