The US President believes that many states use the WTO for their purposes.

President Donald Trump sent a Memorandum to the US Trade Mission, in which he proposed to stop considering States wishing to join the WTO as “developing” if within 90 days there was no “significant progress” in the field of reforms.

This step is an attempt to put pressure on the World Trade Organization. According to WTO standards, China is considered a developing country.

President Trump tweeted: “The WTO is bankrupt if the richest countries declare that they are developing, so as not to follow WTO rules and receive special conditions. Enough!”

The Memorandum states that many large emerging market countries, such as China, are unfairly exploiting their status, allowing it to exploit trade barriers and other protectionist measures.

The US is cooperating with Japan and the EU to change WTO rules. However, any changes to WTO rules must be approved by all 164 participating States.