Axios Leaks Trump Bill to Blow Up the World Trade Organization

Axios media has obtained and leaked the draft of a Trump administration bill – which it claims has been ordered by the president himself – that would decimate the World Trade Organization by allowing the US to simply walk away. In doing so, President Trump would have unilateral authority to raise U.S. tariffs without congressional consent or bound by international rules.

Behind the scenes: Trump was briefed on this draft in late May, according to sources familiar with the situation. Most officials involved in the bill’s drafting — with the notable exception of hardline trade adviser Peter Navarro — think the bill is unrealistic or unworkable. USTR, Commerce and the White House are involved.

In a White House meeting to discuss the bill earlier this year, Legislative Affairs Director Marc Short bluntly told Navarro the bill was “dead on arrival” and would receive zero support on Capitol Hill, according to sources familiar with the exchange.

Navarro replied to Short that he thought the bill would get plenty of support, particularly from Democrats, but Short told Navarro he didn’t think Democrats were in much of a mood to hand over moreauthority to Trump.

White House response: Spokeswoman Lindsay Walters said, “It is no secret that POTUS has had frustrations with the unfair imbalance of tariffs that put the U.S. at a disadvantage. He has asked his team to develop ideas to remedy this situation and create incentives for countries to lower their tariffs. The current system gives the U.S. no leverage and other countries no incentive.”

But Walters signaled that we shouldn’t take this bill as anything like a done deal. “The only way this would be news is if this were actual legislation that the administration was preparing to rollout, but it’s not,” she said. “Principals have not even met to review any text of legislation on reciprocal trade.”

Between the lines: Note the specificity of Walters’ quote above. Trump directly requested this legislation and was verbally briefed on it in May. But he hasn’t met with the principals to review the text.

Be smart: Congress is already concerned with how Trump has been using his trade authorities — just look at recent efforts by Republican Sens. Bob Corker and Pat Toomey and Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet to roll back the president’s steel and aluminum tariffs.

The bottom line: As a smart trade watcher told me: “The Trump administration should be more worried about not having their current authority restricted rather than expanding authority as this bill would do.”

The chance that Congress will let this bill through is quite low, however, when it comes to Trump, one thing everyone should already know is that you should never say never.

It’s also worth noting that Congress is already trying to roll back Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs in the form of a bipartisan bill authored by Republican Sens. Bob Corker and Pat Toomey and Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet.

In a White House meeting to discuss the bill earlier this year, Legislative Affairs Director Marc Short bluntly told Navarro the bill was “dead on arrival” and would receive zero support on Capitol Hill, according to sources familiar with the exchange.

Navarro replied to Short that he thought the bill would get plenty of support, particularly from Democrats, but Short told Navarro he didn’t think Democrats were in much of a mood to hand over more authority to Trump.

White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters acknowledged that the bill was genuine, but cautioned that the public shouldn’t take it too seriously – after all, Trump’s frustrations with the WTO are already widely known.

But Walters signaled that we shouldn’t take this bill as anything like a done deal. “The only way this would be news is if this were actual legislation that the administration was preparing to rollout, but it’s not,” she said.

“Principals have not even met to review any text of legislation on reciprocal trade.”

Between the lines: Note the specificity of Walters’ quote above. Trump directly requested this legislation and was verbally briefed on it in May. But he hasn’t met with the principals to review the text.

The report sent US futures lower off the gate as trade tensions once again reared their ugly head, although the BTFDers promptly emerged, and with their traditional non-challance and disregard for risk or news, quickly sent futures back to unchanged.

Dismantling the WTO risks sparking a global trade war, which could have some very serious consequences.

Although the stakes are high, what is the alternative? Make no mistake, the World Trade Organization is a creation and primary instrument of the globalist New World Order.