In a new paper released today by the Cato Institute, former WTO Appellate Body member James Bacchus argues that a proposed congressional resolution to withdraw the United States from the World Trade Organization (WTO) would be a costly mistake, both economically and geopolitically.

Titled “What Happens If the United States Leaves the WTO?”, the paper outlines how decades of WTO membership have delivered substantial gains for U.S. businesses, workers, and consumers—boosting GDP, supporting millions of jobs, and protecting American exports from discriminatory trade practices. Bacchus warns that withdrawal would not only forfeit these legal protections and market access but also hand global trade leadership to rivals like China.

“Leaving the WTO would strip the U.S. of key legal tools, increase trade barriers against our exports, and isolate us from rulemaking in the 21st-century global economy,” Bacchus writes. “The answer is not to abandon the WTO, but to reform it.”

The paper counters growing bipartisan criticism of the WTO, debunking myths about American economic losses and legal bias within the trade dispute system. Bacchus urges Congress to reject isolationist trade policies and recommit to U.S. leadership within the multilateral trading system.

Read the full report here: https://​www​.cato​.org/​p​o​l​i​c​y​-​a​n​a​l​y​s​i​s​/​w​h​a​t​-​h​a​p​p​e​n​s​-​u​n​i​t​e​d​-​s​t​a​t​e​s​-​l​e​a​v​e​s-wto

o speak with Bacchus on this paper, please feel free to reach out to esalamon@​cato.​org