The main trade dispute body of the World Trade Organization shut down on midnight Tuesday, after the U.S. refused to re-appoint two judges.
The panel is supposed to have seven judges. But the numbers have dwindled because the United States — under the past three presidents — has blocked replacements.
A minimum of three judges is needed to issue rulings and the terms of two of the last three judges ended at midnight Tuesday.
This will deal a major blow to the global trading system of the WTO – an organization that has diminished in its power since the early 2000s when it was rocked by protests at every international summit for years.
Medea Benjamin talked recently with KBOO’s Jenka Soderberg about the protests in Seattle 20 years ago that launched this global movement against the WTO, and the impact that has had on what the organization has become.
- KBOO