U.S. Says WTO’s Appellate Body Is Invalid, Balks at Compliance

The Trump administration signaled it’s under no obligation to comply with certain World Trade Organization dispute rulings because the trade body’s appellate function is no longer operational.

In a document published Wednesday, the U.S. argues that Canada cannot legally retaliate against America’s tariffs on Canadian exports of a type of smooth paper used in magazines.

The U.S. rejected Canada’s claim that the WTO required the U.S. to remove its paper duties -- which range from 17.87% to 20.18% -- and said the ruling could not be adopted because none of the three appellate judges who signed off on the decision ...