Donald Trump cripples WTO as US-China trade war rages on

A US offensive against the World Trade Organization will effectively shutter the group's system for settling disputes, at a time it's most needed

The United States has spent two years chipping away at the World Trade Organization, criticising it as unfair, starving it of personnel and disregarding its authority, as President Trump seeks to upend the global trade system.

This week, the Trump administration is expected to go one step further and effectively cripple the organization’s system for enforcing its rules — even as Trump’s widening trade war has thrown global commerce into disarray and another tariff increase on Chinese goods set for next weekend could send markets reeling.

Over the past two years, Washington has blocked the WTO from appointing new members to a