Northern Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany has introduced a joint resolution calling for the United States to withdraw from the World Trade Organization, calling it a “deeply flawed globalist institution.”
Tiffany, who represents Wisconsin’s northern 7th Congressional District, last week announced the joint resolution.
In a statement on the measure, he argued the WTO “has repeatedly overlooked China’s unfair trade practices and human rights abuses, undermined American farmers and manufacturers, and eroded our national sovereignty.”
The intergovernmental group, based in Switzerland, has played a major role in overseeing international trade since being founded in 1995. With 166 participating countries since August 2024, the WTO’s membership represents the vast majority of all global trade.
Tiffany says China’s government has stolen intellectual property and “flooded global markets with heavily subsidized exports” since joining the WTO in 2001. He claims the organization “looked the other way” and allowed China to maintain trade barriers.
“American trade policies should be made by American officials who are elected by American voters and accountable to American workers, not dictated by unelected international bureaucrats in Geneva,” Tiffany said. “It’s time to pursue a better approach to trade — one that puts American industry, jobs, and economic independence first.”
The WTO has been a frequent target of President Donald Trump, who has said China’s entrance into the organization has led to domestic “job theft” and an exodus of U.S. manufacturing plants. Trump argues China has been taking advantage of the United States since joining the WTO.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration moved to suspend payments to the organization.
Tiffany’s release notes Congress is authorized to consider joint resolutions to withdraw the United States from the WTO during a 90-day window every five years. While lawmakers previously debated withdrawal in 2000 and 2005, no withdrawal resolutions were introduced in 2010 or 2015, the release shows. Resolutions were introduced in 2020 by both Dem and GOP lawmakers but weren’t considered, Tiffany’s office notes.
“It has been two decades since Congress last voted on whether to continue our membership in this deeply flawed organization,” Tiffany said. “The American people deserve to know if their elected officials stand with them, or with China’s allies in the WTO.”
See the joint resolution and release.
