U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said Friday a report by the Axios news website, that cited sources as saying President Donald Trump wanted the United States to withdraw from the World Trade Organization (WTO), was wrong. “There’s no breaking news here ... it’s not right,” Mnuchin told Fox Business Network, calling the report “fake news.” Axios reported Friday, quoting people who were involved in discussions with the U.S. president, that Trump frequently told advisers he wanted the United States to quit the WTO, a move with potentially disastrous implications for global commerce. “This is an exaggeration,” Mnuchin said. “The president has been clear, with us and with others, he has concerns about the WTO, he thinks there’s aspects of it that are not fair ... but we are focused on free trade. That’s what we’re focused on — breaking down barriers.” One person who has discussed the subject with Trump, according to Axios, said the president frequently told advisers: “I don’t know why we’re in it. The WTO is designed by the rest of the world to screw the United States.” A source familiar with Trump’s thinking saud he has said privately that the United States should get out of the WTO but that it was not a serious proposal. “He’s frustrated with it and doesn’t love it but it’s not like we’re doing some formal process to withdraw. He thinks they impede good trade deals and make trading more complicated,” the source said. A December 1994 statute approving the creation of the WTO requires explicit approval from both U.S. chambers of Congress for the country to withdraw from the agreement, an extremely high barrier to such a move. The 164-member WTO is the only international organization that deals with the rules of trade between countries. (SD-Agencies) |