Clete Willems Quoted in The Wall Street Journal on WTO “Crisis”
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The Wall Street Journal has quoted Akin Gump public law and policy partner Clete Willems in the article “‘The WTO Is in Crisis’: Dispute Puts Global Trade Regulator at Risk.” The article reports on a stalemate between the United States and other World Trade Organization (WTO) members that could cripple the organization’s top court.
As of December 11, the WTO’s Appellate Body, according to the article, will no longer have enough judges to rule on big trade disputes between countries. It’s a crisis, the article says, brought on by a U.S. block of new appointments, with consecutive U.S. administrations complaining about Appellate Body overreach.
Willems, though, said, “The problems of the WTO go far beyond any [Appellate Body] crisis.” Citing lengthy WTO litigations and Chinese trade practices, he said, “The question is do we have a system that is fit for purpose, given where we are on world trade.”