Asynchrony and Hypocrisy The WTO held a full membership meeting today at which Director General Roberto Azevêdo urged members to tackle systemic issues. Chief among his and a cadre of countries’ concerns was U.S. “protectionism” and Washington’s blockage of appointees to the Appellate Body. China was happy to lead the charge against Donald Trump’s trade war, and the U.S. no doubt responded by charging appellant panels with writing new trade laws. The U.S. also continues its push for timely and accurate fulfillment of member obligations to submit empirical data to the organization. It is true that WTO members cannot enforce what they don’t know at a data level, but the American charge could have be...

TAGS – China, India, North America, South America