Clete Willems Quoted on Trade Reform with China by Inside U.S. Trade

December 16, 2021

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Inside U.S. Trade has quoted Akin Gump public law and policy partner Clete Willems in its article “Analysts: Address 'increasing' problem of China's WTO incompatibility.” The article discusses China’s incompatibility with the international trading system and the increasing need for reform from World Trade Organization (WTO).

Willems noted that the WTO has been slow to reform change in recent years, adding that expecting that to change in the “near or even medium term” would be an overestimation of its abilities. He said, “We haven't been able to get a fisheries subsidies agreement in 20 years and we're going to come up with all these rules that deal with the biggest problems confronting China? It pains me to say it, but I think that's far-fetched.”

Willems said that a “high-discipline” organization of like-minded countries could be a solution, but recommended that the U.S. and others not give up on the WTO.

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