Trump’s Tariff Threat

Donald Trump’s tweet that he might leave the World Trade Organisation (WTO) is probably just a negotiating ploy, but his gut reaction is correct.

The WTO is merely a name change that more accurately reflects the organisation of international trade that was set up after the Second World War by the United States and Great Britain.  They called this the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).  GATT was set up to help reduce tariffs, or import duties, in a series of equal negotiations.

GATT was specifically designed to favour the great exporting and trading nations, and the merchants therein.  Reducing tariffs meant that imports of raw materials would be cheaper, which they could then process and export as finished goods.  They could also sell these at to GATT countries and make more profit.

Those who suffered most would be the nations that imported the most.  Consumers in those nations…