A U.S. Offer to Keep the WTO Alive Comes With Painful Conditions

The Trump administration, which threatened this month to block the World Trade Organization’s 2020 budget, offered members a proposal that would allow it to continue operating, but would hamstring the WTO’s appellate body, which officiates disputes that affect billions of dollars in commerce every year.

The U.S. said it would back the 197.2 million-Swiss franc ($197.6 million) budget for 2020 with the condition that no more than 100,000 francs be paid to appellate body members, an 87% reduction from the full budget allotment, and spending by the body’s operating fund also be limited to 100,000 francs, a 95% reduction, ...