Buried within the archives of the World Trade Organization’s Website is a hefty list of case numbers documenting the trade disputes between member countries.
The list is organized by country and the longest subset belongs to the United States, which is no accident. The United States is the most vigorous pursuer of WTO rules enforcement in the world.
And the largest number of cases correspond to the trade relationship between China, the so-called “world’s factory,” and United States, the world’s largest consuming nation. More than just a function of the depth and breadth of trade between China and the United States, the sheer volume of WTO disputes also emblemizes the way modern Sino-U.S. relations function from a practical position.
Simmering tensions
