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Report: US hinders progress on WTO ministerial declaration

The U.S. on Nov. 22 blocked attempts by the World Trade Organization to prepare a declaration for ministers to issue in December, Reuters reported.

As organizers of the WTO's top-level December meeting in Buenos Aires hope for a unanimous "ministerial declaration" from all 164 WTO members, U.S. officials in a closed-door preparatory meeting reportedly said they could not agree on parts of the declaration which call for support of the "centrality of the multilateral trading system" and "development."

U.S. representatives refused to comment on the matter as they left the meeting, but others said that while the move was predictable, it still represented a setback.

"They are going a bit beyond what a lot of the membership are going to be able to accept," one diplomat reportedly said.

The WTO is already embroiled in a dispute with the U.S. over the seating of new appeals judges; the administration of President Donald Trump is blocking the appointments until the system is changed to the president's liking.

WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo acknowledged the U.S. concerns regarding the system but remarked that the U.S. administration must directly suggest proposed changes to other WTO members.

He further added that U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer did not give much detail about potential changes to the system when the two met.

Contrary to Trump's suggestion that the U.S. is mistreated by the WTO, Azevedo reportedly said that statistically the organization remained successful in settling disputes and that the WTO dispute system was effective at preventing trade wars.

"I think the system has fulfilled its role and I think that if we compromise the system, the threat of unilateral action, the threat of an escalating trade war, becomes very real," he said. "That is something I don't have to tell you, it's something that is well known by everyone."