US-China trade deal could be challenged by other nations, WTO chief says
- The organisation’s director general Roberto Azevedo says its mechanisms allow other nations to object to a deal if it unfairly hurts them
- WTO also set to rule in dispute – which a source said involves Russia – that could force US to justify why targets of its metal tariffs pose a security threat
A potential trade agreement between the US and China could face challenges from other World Trade Organisation members depending on the details of the pact and whether other nations feel it unfairly hurts them, the group’s chief said.
The US and China appear to have the political will to reach a deal to relieve perhaps the biggest tension in global trade, although things could still fall apart, WTO director general Roberto Azevedo said in an interview in Mexico City on Thursday.
The WTO’s purpose is to allow countries to check actions taken by others if they think that they violate the organisation’s rules, he said.
“I’m sure that if the agreement between the US and China has elements that are questionable, other members will try to get more clarity, they will try to talk about that and they may at the end of the day even challenge that if they want to,” Azevedo said.
“I would be speculating, because I have no clue what the outcome of those conversations is going to be and how they’re going to implement it.”
China and the US claimed progress in talks to end their trade war this week, with President Xi Jinping pushing for a rapid conclusion and President Donald Trump talking up prospects for a “monumental” agreement. Trump said any deal was probably still weeks away.