Now, as U.S. Trade Representative, Greer has set out to remake the trading system, pursuing so-called “reciprocal” tariffs with all trading partners and negotiating a range of deals designed to rebalance trade relations asymmetrically in America’s favor. But this unilateral approach will not succeed in creating a fairer trading system or address the structural problems of the WTO. Instead, it will simply erect a high tariff wall around the U.S., pushing trade toward other markets.
Truly remaking the trading system requires something far more ambitious than the limited deals the Administration has cobbled together so far, which may not even last past Trump’s tenure in office. For lasting change, Greer needs a fundamental redesign of MFN trading status, a radical step, though not without precedent.
In 1979, GATT members took a significant step toward acknowledging that not all trading nations were created equal. They established the Enabling Clause, which allowed developed country members to offer preferential market access to developing countries. This paved the way for the Generalized System of Preferences—a new approach to trade with developing countries that established criteria they had to meet to qualify for special trade treatment, such as providing adequate market access, protecting intellectual property, and worker rights.
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