Trump threatens to pull US out of World Trade Organization

"We will leave if we have to," Trump said during a rally in Pittsburgh. "They have been screwing us for years, and it's not going to happen any longer."

Trump said the United States does not need the WTO if the organization fails to address loopholes that favor certain nations.

"They view certain countries like China, India, many countries - they've viewed them as growing, they are growing nations. ... Well, they have grown, and they had tremendous advantages. We are not letting that happen anymore," he said.

On July 26, Trump directed US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to secure changes at the WTO that would prevent developing countries from taking advantage of regulatory loopholes.

A White House memorandum pointed out that seven of the ten wealthiest economies in the world as measured by GDP per capita on a purchasing-power parity basis currently claim developing-country status: Brunei, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Macao, Qatar, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.

The same is true for G20 and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) members South Korea, Turkey and Mexico.
China, the world's second largest economy, has been identified by the United States as the biggest abuser of WTO rules. Since joining the WTO, China has insisted that it is a developing country, according to the memorandum.

Discussions about reforming the WTO have been going on for years and the organization's 164 member states are yet to reach a consensus on the matter. They members divided in two camps, with one group of states - including Russia - advocating for the organization's further development and another calling for developing a new format for the WTO.