Why there's no referee for the trade war

The Indicator from Planet Money

NPR

Business

4.7 • 9.2K Ratings

🗓️ 19 March 2025

⏱️ 11 minutes

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Summary

Thirty years ago, the U.S. helped create the World Trade Organization, a group of countries linked by a common set of free trade agreements. But then the U.S., starting with the Obama administration, turned against the WTO. This leaves a void where there should be a referee to settle trade disputes between countries. On today's show, how American grievances paralyzed the WTO's dispute settlement system and what happens when the U.S. no longer wants to play by the rules it once agreed to.

Related listening:
A polite message from Canada to the U.S. (Apple / Spotify)
Trump's contradictory trade policies (Apple / Spotify)
Worst. Tariffs. Ever. (Update) (Apple / Spotify)

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Transcript

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0:00.0	NPR.
0:11.9	This is the indicator from Planet Money.
0:14.0	I'm Waylon Wong.
0:15.2	And I'm Adrienne Ma.
0:16.5	You know, in the midst of the Trump administration's trade war, you might be wondering,
0:21.4	is there some sort of neutral third party here? You know, in the midst of the Trump administration's trade war, you might be wondering, is there some sort of neutral third party here?
0:24.8	You know, some authority figure that can step in and stop this carnival ride of imposing tariffs,
0:30.1	then suspending those tariffs and threatening more tariffs and retaliating with tariffs?
0:35.0	The global economy does actually have a kind of mediator for these disputes, the World Trade Organization.
0:42.1	And Canada and China have filed complaints against the U.S. with the WTO.
0:46.7	There's just one problem, though.
0:49.1	The WTO essentially is a lame duck.
0:51.9	And it's the U.S. that has been blocking it from playing referee
0:55.1	on these trade disputes. And this hamstringing of the WTO did not start with Trump. It actually
1:00.5	goes back to the Obama years. Today on the show, what made the U.S. turn against the WTO, an organization
1:07.1	it helped create, and how are other countries redefining their relationships in a system where the U.S.
1:13.3	no longer wants to cooperate.
1:17.6	This message comes from Wise, the app for doing things in other currencies.
1:22.4	Sending or spending money abroad, hidden fees may be taking a cut.
1:26.3	With Wise, you can convert between up to 40 currencies
1:29.5	at the mid-market exchange rate. Visit wise.com. TNCs apply. After World War II, powerful countries like
1:38.2	the U.S. and the United Kingdom got together to set up the new ground rules for the global economy.
	...

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