Bipartisan Resolution Supporting US Membership in WTO Introduced in Senate
Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., want Congress to say on the record that belonging to the World Trade Organization has value, even as the U.S. seeks reforms to its system, including in dispute resolution and how developing countries are treated. Their resolution was introduced July 2.
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There is no danger of Congress voting to leave the WTO this year, because the House of Representatives blocked such a vote (see 2006250008).
“As a former U.S. Trade Representative, I understand the value and usefulness of the United States involvement in the WTO,” Portman said in a press release announcing the resolution, adding praise for the administration's push to reform the WTO. “By identifying the problem and suggesting some potential solutions, this bipartisan resolution is a start to addressing and fixing some of the shortcomings of the WTO in order to support American workers against unfair foreign trade practices and enhance the ability of American farmers, workers, and businesses to access foreign markets,” he said.
The resolution says that the U.S. has won some rule-writing victories over the years at the WTO -- for instance, in protecting intellectual property. It also said if the U.S. were to quit the WTO, it would leave a void that “would be filled by nonmarket economies that are hostile to a host of United States interests.”