US-China trade war may kill WTO – a good thing?

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China has taken the US to task at the WTO, initiating a dispute complaint as the latest round of tariffs take effect. This piece in the Washington Post suggests the institution may find itself one of the biggest victims of the trade war. Harvard professor Dani Rodrik has claimed the dispute mayl “spell the end” for the WTO. This, he claims, is a “good thing”. Mr Rodrik acknowledges that the world needs a rules-based system for multilateral trade, but believes the WTO trades on dated policies and laid the groundwork for the populist “backlash” seen in some global economies.