Trump: ‘Not talking about pulling out’ of WTO

President Trump on Friday said he is not considering pulling out of the World Trade Organization (WTO), despite his frustration with the international group. 

“I’m not talking about pulling out,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One en route to his New Jersey golf club. 

{mosads}Trump was responding to an Axios report that he has privately told advisers he wants to withdraw the U.S. from the WTO, a move that would upend global trade and roil international markets. 

“We’ve been treated very badly,” Trump said of the organization. “It’s an unfair situation.”

Trump is a longtime critic of the WTO. He complained during his campaign that other nations had taken advantage of the U.S. because of bad negotiating by past presidents in both parties. 

He imposed tariffs on imports of aluminum and steel earlier this year that has triggered new trade suits that will be considered by WTO panels. The tariffs have also led to retaliation by U.S. allies, including Canada and the European Union. 

The president is considering the imposition of tariffs on car imports, a move that would be sure to draw new litigation in the WTO. 

Earlier on Friday, White House legislative affairs director Marc Short acknowledged Trump’s frustration with the WTO, which Trump has previously called “unfair to the U.S.” and a “disaster for this country.” 

“I think that the president’s expressed frustrations with international organizations from a sovereignty perspective, but I think that the president also believes that there’s extensive tariffs assessed on American products overseas that’s not a reciprocal tariff,” Short said.