What the U.S. Gave Up by Joining the WTO
WTO regulations created in the 1990s with regards to financial services still allow for the kind of trading and exchange that nearly destroyed the world banking system. And because the U.S. government decides to submit to the will of the WTO, a potential challenge to laws from that body would force a reversal.
The WTO routinely trumps U.S. laws and conventions with its rulings. According to former trade representative Robert Lighthizer, the U.S. is one of the most sued nations in the WTO, and loses 9 out of every ten cases brought against it. By signing the agreement with the World Trade Organization, the U.S. Congress agreed to concede a major portion of our sovereignty and usurp our democratic legislative process, including:
* Conforming U.S. laws, regulations and administrative procedures to the will of the WTO
* Subjecting all federal, state and local laws and practices that affect trade to international review by the WTO
* Allowing any WTO member country to challenge federal, state and local laws and practices as trade impeding
* Taking all trade disputes to the WTO judiciary – giving the WTO final jurisdiction over all trade altercations. No appeal exists outside of the WTO
* Empowering the WTO to enforce its rulings by imposing fines on the United States until we comply
It is absolutely imperative that we renegotiate terms or completely withdraw from the WTO. What benefits does our nation receive from being a part of this corrupt organization? While we routinely have to overturn laws and face penalties, nations such as China and members of the European Union have been free to run rampant over international trading laws.
There is in fact a process for leaving the WTO or amending its rules. Amending the agreement with the WTO requires submitting a proposal to the Ministerial Conference. Once the amendment has been accepted, it should only take 90 days to render a consensus. If our government initiated this process, the U.S. could be free of the WTO’s rule in a mere six months. Until then, our agreement with the World Trade Organizations, according to the United States Constitution “shall be the Supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby.”







