Report: Trump administration drafted a bill that abandons key WTO rules

Melania Trump and Donald Trump.
(Image credit: Yuri Gripas-Pool/Getty Images)

A draft of a Trump administration bill leaked to Axios, called the United States Fair and Reciprocal Tariff Act, would give President Trump the ability to raise tariffs whenever he wants and negotiate directly with any country.

"It would be the equivalent of walking away from the [World Trade Organization] and our commitments there without us actually notifying our withdrawal," a person familiar with the draft told Axios. "The good news is Congress would never give this authority to the president" because the bill is "insane," the person added.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.