The Legal Aspect of the Evolving Role of the WTO in the Era of Trade Wars and Regionalism: A Case Study of the United States Under Donald Trump (2024–Date)
Abstract
This study critically investigates the legal trajectory of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in the context of escalating trade conflicts and the proliferation of regional trade agreements. Anchored in a qualitative research design and informed by the Critical Legal Studies framework, the analysis interrogates the progressive erosion of the WTO’s legal authority in upholding multilateral trade norms. It highlights an emerging pattern of strategic legal non- compliance, particularly by major economic powers such as the United States, which has significantly weakened the efficacy of the WTO’s dispute settlement system. Furthermore, the ascendance of legally robust regional frameworks—exemplified by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)—has begun to reconfigure the normative hierarchy of international trade governance, increasingly marginalizing the WTO. This paper contends that the WTO’s declining juridical relevance constitutes a structural challenge to the coherence and legitimacy of the international trade legal order. In response, it advocates for comprehensive legal and institutional reforms, notably the restoration of the Appellate Body and the enhancement of enforcement mechanisms, as essential measures to reestablish the WTO’s central role in global trade adjudication and to safeguard the uniform application of international trade law.
Keywords
World Trade OrganizationDonald TrumpTrade WarsUnited StatesDispute
References
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