US ransoming WTO reform to EU concession shows its true intent: China Daily editorial

Delegates attend the 13th WTO ministerial conference in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Feb 26, 2024. The 13th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization was held in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, from Feb 26 to March 2, with ministers from across the world attending to review the functioning of the multilateral trading system and discuss the future of the trade body, which has been put in jeopardy as a result of the United States paralyzing its dispute settlement mechanism. In Abu Dhabi on Feb 28, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai ruled out an agreement being reached at the conference on a package of reforms to address the way the WTO adjudicates trade disputes. Despite the convergence among members on improving some aspects of the dispute settlement system "energizing" the membership to "think big" about broader WTO reforms to meet 21st century trade challenges, and the negotiations on the issue showing some progress, Tai said that talks would continue on "much harder issues" after the conference ended. Even though "Biden administration officials familiar with the conversation" were reported as saying Tai did not mean it to be a threat, Tai warned her G7 counterparts that if the European Union reopened a WTO case over a Trump-era steel and aluminum dispute, it would risk sinking their efforts of reforming and reviving the WTO's dispute settlement system.