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BCN-12
US-ECONOMY-TRADE-WTO
US denies Trump planning to exit WTO
WASHINGTON, June 30, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – It would be an “exaggeration” to say
US President Donald Trump is planning to withdraw from the World Trade
Organization, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Friday, denying a media
report.
“I won’t use our favorite word about the fake news but this is an
exaggeration,” Mnuchin told Fox Business television about the report from
Washington news website Axios.
“The president has been clear with us and with others he has concerns
about the WTO. He thinks there’s aspects of it that aren’t fair.”
And although Trump complains that China and others have used the WTO
system to their own advantage “we are focused on free trade” and “breaking
down barriers,” Mnuchin said.
Axios cited sources saying Trump has repeatedly told his top officials he
wants to exit the global trading body that Washington helped design and which
most often rules in favor of the United States when Washington brings cases
before the world body.
But Trump has publicly complained about the trade rules, calling the WTO a
“disaster” and has flouted international norms by hitting key allies with
stinging tariffs on steel and aluminum and imposing crippling fees on tens of
billions of Chinese goods in the name of US national security.
BSS/AFP/HR/1030