Two US Congressional Leaders Criticize WTO For Stance On Trade Remedy, Food Safety Measures

From a press release issued today: “House Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Sander Levin (D-MI) and Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) today sent a letter to World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Roberto Azevêdo, criticizing the WTO Secretariat’s stance on measures it views as protectionist, and urging the office to better support the rules-based global trading system.”

“We are deeply disappointed that the Secretariat of the WTO has once again issued a report that expresses concern not with dumping, not with trade-distorting subsidies, and not with unsafe imported foods, but instead expresses concern with measures taken to address those very real problems,” wrote Ranking Members Levin and Wyden. “The WTO Secretariat appears to view its role as facilitating more and more trade or to supporting trade for its own sake. But, for the WTO to continue to play the central role it needs to play in the world trading system, it needs to focus on ensuring the quality of trade, not its quantity…we strongly urge the WTO to reconsider how it monitors and reports on G20 adherence to the undertakings on resisting trade protectionism.”

The Levin-Wyden letter is available here [pdf].