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Biden Picks Up Where Trump Left Off in Hard-Line Stances at WTO

U.S. cites national-security exemption in Hong Kong dispute
U.S. blocks new appellate members, citing systemic concerns

Joe Biden — Joe Biden
Photographer: Shawn Thew/EPA/Bloomberg

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February 22, 2021, 1:55 PM UTCUpdated onFebruary 22, 2021, 4:55 PM UTC

President Joe Biden’s administration dashed hopes for a softer approach to the World Trade Organization by pursuing a pair of his predecessor’s strategies that critics say risk undermining the international trading system.

The U.S. delegation to the WTO, in a statement Monday obtained by Bloomberg, backed the Trump administration’s decision to label Hong Kong exports as “Made in China” and said the WTO had no right to mediate the matter because the organization’s rules permit countries to take any action to protect their “essential security interests.”