President Trump warned Monday his administration could leave the World Trade Organization if it fails to treat the U.S. better.
“The WTO has treated the United States very badly, and I hope they change their ways,” Trump told reporters during an Oval Office meeting with his Dutch counterpart.
The president said he does not have any major announcements related to the WTO, despite the circulation of draft legislation on Monday that would give him leniency to negotiate one-on-one with U.S. trade partners and effectively abandon the international group.
“If they don’t treat us properly, we will be doing something,” he said.
According to Axios, the draft bill known as the U.S. Fair and Reciprocal Trade Act would pave the way for Trump to unilaterally impose tariffs on a variety of goods by circumventing longstanding WTO rules. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin also told reporters last week that the administration was involved in bilateral trade negotiations with several countries and did not have plans to leave the WTO.
The bill was reportedly written and delivered to Trump in May, and many White House aides view it as a long shot since it would require congressional approval.
