[DeadMoneyDad]

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It all stems back to 1924. The economy was in a recession and other countries were having issues with the farming industry. The united states was the only country at the time that could successfully grow large quantities of potatoes.

At that time, the WTO did not care that the United States didn't want to "share the wealth" as some say with reasonable potato sales to other countries. So basically, the WTO forced the US to sell potatos at 1% above cost to foreign countries that were having problems growing them.
This caused some tension and this is why the US doesn't care about the WTO or it's sanctions.

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The WTO wasn't even established until 1995, and before that GATT was established in 1947.

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Well if he is writing a serious paper about the WTO, it should be safe to assume the OP has more than a passing knowledge of the "WTO"'s history.

Hence neither the OP nor many here need any background history lessons.

The toothlness stems from the basic fact that most of the history of resolution of trade disputes are done by agreement by the disputing countries outside of the "WTO" rubric.

Only recently, ironically at the US's pushing has there been any atepmt to formalize resolution along a tineframe and structure. But too many people worldwide in general, and poker players in particular think the WTO has anything like the history and power of even a US civil court, let alone the real force of a State or Federal court.

You want an example? Try telling a policeman you don't agree with the law, or his ability to enforce it as he or she see it. After you bond out of jail you might get a chance to argue the finer points of your legal distinction but toothless doesn't describe the power of the State to tell you how to act.

So the WTO history of "sucessful" resolution with real sanctions has perhaps as few as a single case for its foundation, unlike in the example perhaps a few centuries of case law.


Just an opinion,


D$D--your milage may vary, opinions are like rear-ends, please fold spindle and mutulate, all winners are chosen at random, decisions of the judges are never final....