Trump Threatens to Pull US out of World Trade Organization

President Donald Trump has threatened to withdraw the US from the World Trade Organization (WTO) if the body fails to change the way it treats America. "If they don't shape up, I would withdraw from the WTO," Mr Trump said in an interview with Bloomberg News. The WTO was established to provide rules for global trade and resolve disputes between countries. But Mr Trump, who has been pushing protectionist policies, says the US is treated unfairly by the body. His warning about a possible US pull-out from the organisation highlights the conflict between the president's trade policies and the open trade system that the WTO oversees. Meanwhile, Washington has recently been blocking the election of new judges to the WTO's dispute settlement system, which could potentially paralyse its ability to issue judgments. US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has also accused the WTO of interfering with US sovereignty.