CWR > Volume 3(1); 2017 > Current Developments
Research Paper
Published online: March 1, 2017
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14330/cwr.2017.3.1.05
Trump's China Trade Policies: Threats and Constraints
Stuart S. Malawer
George Mason University Schar School of Policy and Government
3351 Fairfax Dr., MS 3B1, Arlington, Virginia 22201 USA.
Corresponding Author: StuartMalawer@msn.com
ⓒ Copyright YIJUN Institute of International Law. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
United States litigation against China in the WTO will be ground zero for the new Trump administration's aggressive trade policy. Five important facts must be highlighted to better understand the likely actions of the Trump administration. First, heightened judicial advocacy within the WTO will be consistent with both the Bush and Obama administrations' aggressive use of the WTO's dispute settlement system. Second, international judicial activism is squarely within the context of unfolding historical changes in international relations. Third, China hawks in the Trump administration will be competing with a number of countervailing forces in the White House, throughout the administration, and in the federal courts. Fourth, the US Congress has the exclusive authority to regulate global trade. However, much of this exclusive authority has been delegated to the president. Fifth, Trump considers trade as a zero-sum transaction, with a focus on the bottom line, to the exclusion of all else.
Keywords : Trump, China Trade, WTO, Ground Zero, International Judicial Activism
