Please support U.S. withdrawal from the World Trade Organization. Enacted by Congress in 1994, the WTO poses a threat to U.S. national sovereignty. It has frequently ruled against the U.S., overriding duly-enacted U.S. law and forcing the federal government and states to adhere to its rulings. The example of Congress being forced by the WTO to repeal its country of origin labels (COOL) law in 2015, and Washington State's 2020 repeal of a Boeing tax credit illustrates the international organization's control over U.S. domestic law. While the WTO's defenders claim that the U.S. wins more cases than it loses, even a single infringement on U.S. sovereignty is one too many. The WTO doesn't just frequently rule the U.S. It has also led to an outsourcing of jobs and benefited other countries, including our most serious adversaries. After the U.S. helped pave the way for China to join the WTO in 2001, there was a rapid buildup of the Chinese economy at the expense of the U.S. economy -- 3.7 million American jobs were lost by 2020 according to the Economic Policy Institute. The WTO also is unconstitutional. While treaties require 2/3rds passage in the U.S. Senate, per Article II, Section 2, the WTO was passed as a "trade agreement," which only requires a majority vote in both chambers of Congress. The WTO also represents an unconstitutional delegation of power from Congress to both the executive branch and unaccountable international bureaucrats. Please introduce and support legislation to withdraw the U.S. from the WTO. Any benefits are not worth the multiple drawbacks from this organization.

I am writing asking you to support legislation to withdraw the U.S. from the World Trade Organization (WTO). When Congress was considering WTO membership, Congressman Newt Gingrich noted that "we are transferring from the United States at a practical level significant authority to a new organization. This is a transformational moment ... not just another trade agreement." He expressed disapproval at the unwillingness of WTO supporters to acknowledge this. In the decades following the WTO's approval by Congress, Gingrich's warnings have been proven correct. The TWO has been destructive to the U.S. in multiple ways. For example, the WTO undermines U.S. national sovereignty and has enabled our adversaries. Please read “‘Free Trade’ Isn’t Really About Trade,” posted at TheNewAmerican.com on August 20, 2018, to see just how bad a decision joining the WTO was. According to this article, the WTO “is the de facto global trade ministry of the UN-centered nascent world government. It commonly rules against the United States, requiring changes in domestic law at the state and federal levels.” Beyond these downsides to WTO membership, after the U.S. helped pave the way for China to join the WTO in 2001, there was a rapid buildup of the Chinese economy at the expense of the U.S. economy. For a specific example of how the WTO overrides U.S. trade laws, consider that in 2008 Congress passed a law requiring meat products to have country of origin labels (COOL). Canada claimed that the COOL law violated WTO rules, and went on (with Mexico and some other countries) to take the U.S. to arbitration under a WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB). The WTO DSB ruled in favor of Canada and Mexico giving them the green light to retaliate by imposing over $1 billion in tariffs on U.S. products unless the U.S. repealed the COOL law. Sure enough, in 2015 Congress repealed the COOL law. This example shows why we need to restore our national sovereignty by withdrawing our membership in the WTO. The WTO has ruled multiple other times against the U.S., attacking its sovereignty and domestic laws in the process. It has even forced state governments to change their laws when conflicting its rulings. Its leadership, along with others, seeks even greater power for the international organization. Already, all of the U.S.’s bilateral and multilateral trade agreements are subordinate to the WTO. Not only is the WTO a threat to U.S. sovereignty, but its status as a trade agreement is unconstitutional and legally unenforceable. For example, Article II, Section 2, of the U.S. Constitution requires that treaties be ratified by two-thirds of the U.S. Senate. The WTO, however, was enacted by a simple majority vote by both houses of Congress. Additionally, Article I, Section 8, gives Congress the sole authority to set tariff rates and regulate foreign trade. Congress has unconstitutionally delegated this power to the executive branch and, in this case, to an international organization that can override U.S. domestic law. In the 116th Congress, Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), in addition to writing an op-ed calling for the WTO’s abolition, introduced S.J.Res.71 to withdraw the U.S. from the international organization. The Senate did not consider Senator Hawley’s resolution, and Congress must reintroduce and support such a bill in the 117th Congress beginning in January 2021. Please support legislation to withdraw the U.S. from the WTO.

Please oppose U.S. membership in the World Trade Organization and introduce legislation to that effect. As I'm sure you know, the WTO is a multilateral trade agreement that the U.S. joined in 1994. Currently, the U.S.'s bilateral and multilateral agreements exist under the WTO's framework. Membership in the WTO is problematic for multiple reasons. First and foremost, the organization compromises U.S. sovereignty. The WTO's arbitration system, which commonly rules against the U.S., is able to override U.S. domestic law, including on the state level. For example, the State of Washington was forced to repeal a tax break for Boeing in 2020 to comply with a WTO ruling. Additionally, Congress was forced to repeal a country of origin labels law in 2015 after a negative ruling. Other examples abound. The erosion of U.S. sovereignty is dangerous -- and a bipartisan concern -- because Congress would no longer make the laws. Rather, unelected bureaucrats would more power over the U.S. than the people's representatives. It becomes especially frightening if these bureaucrats and international organizations make rulings that conflict with the U.S. Constitution, which is a realistic hypothetical. The WTO has also contributed to the decline in American manufacturing and the rise of China. A notable example of this was when the U.S. allowed China to join in 2001, making the country more attractive to companies at the expense of the U.S. and American citizens. With U.S. withdrawal, the U.S. would be able to enact policies that discourage outsourcing and encouraging domestic investment. Last but not least, the WTO is a de facto treaty, with all the characteristics of one. However, Congress did not follow the Treaty Clause when passing it. Rather than ratifying it with two-thirds of the U.S. Senate, it was passed with simple majorities in both houses. This is unconstitutional. Additionally, the WTO appears inconsistent with Article I, Section 8, which gives Congress sole authority for regulating trade with other countries. Delegating that power to another entity contradicts this section. U.S. membership in the WTO is bad policy for multiple reasons. In May 2020, Senator Josh Hawley introduced legislation to withdraw U.S. membership from the WTO. Please introduce and support legislation to that effect in the 117th Congress.

Please reject the World Trade Organization and support legislation to pull the U.S. out of it. The U.S. formally entered the WTO on January 1, 1995, and its withdrawal is long past due. WTO membership is contrary to the U.S. national interest for multiple reasons. First off, the WTO diminishes U.S. sovereignty and self-governance. This is because the organization has the authority to overrule state and federal laws duly-enacted by elected officials. Multiple examples of this exist, most prominently the striking-down of a 2008 federal country of origin labels (COOL) law, which Congress was forced to repeal in 2015. Also notably, Washington State was forced to repeal a Boeing tax break law because of the WTO. I'm not arguing for or against these laws in-and-of themselves, but it's dangerous to have unelected foreign bureaucrats override any domestic law passed by elected American officials. Additionally, the WTO has had a horrible effect on the U.S. economy. In early 2020, the Economic Policy Institute estimated that about 3.7 million U.S. jobs were outsourced as a result of China's 2001 entry to the WTO. If we're going to restore U.S. economic and manufacturing strength, it's imperative that we withdraw from the organization that largely enabled our decline. Lastly, U.S. membership in the WTO poses serious constitutional concerns. Although the WTO is a multilateral treaty in all but name, it was not enacted through the proper constitutional process, a two-thirds vote in the Senate. This violates the Treaty Clause of the Constitution, a serious violation for an agreement as significant to our country and economy as the WTO. For these reasons, the U.S. must reject the WTO. Please support legislation that will pull our country out.

Please introduce and support legislation to withdraw the United States from the World Trade Organization. WTO membership is a bad deal for our country. For one, it has caused the outsourcing of millions of jobs. According to the Economic Policy Institute, 3.7 million jobs were lost by 2020 due to China's WTO entry alone. This is unacceptable, and the only realistic way to reverse this economic disaster with withdrawal from the international organization. Second, WTO membership erodes and undermines American national sovereignty. Even today, the organization can strike down domestic U.S. laws passed by elected representatives. The ability for the people's representatives to pass laws is essential to the function of our republic, and when they're no longer able to do such because of the WTO is a terrible sign for our form of government. The WTO's ability to strike down domestic laws is not a hypothetical. In 2015, Congress was forced to repeal a country of origin labels law because of this, and in 2020, Washington State was forced to repeal a tax law benefiting Boeing. The ability for our citizens and elected officials to control U.S. law is no small matter, and U.S. withdrawal from the WTO is essential for that reason. In addition to these concerns, the WTO's enactment violates the Constitution. Article II, Section 2, makes clear that all treaties must be ratified by 67% of the Senate. However, the WTO, despite being a treaty, was only ratified by a majority vote by the House and Senate. This is a significant agreement that has had a major impact on our country -- by all means, it's a treaty and should be treated as such. Not only this, but the delegation of significant power from Congress to foreign bureaucrats violates the Article I, Section 8, provision giving Congress full authority over international trade. WTO membership is a bad deal for our country. Please sponsor legislation to withdraw our country from the WTO.