With just nearly two months into the second term of the Donald Trump administration, U.S. trading partners, notwithstanding allies and free trade agreement partners, have been staggering from a series of tariff measures and plans announced by the U.S. government. The new keyword for U.S. trade policy now appears to be "reciprocity," which signals a sharp departure from the multilateral rules-based principle of "nondiscrimination."

While the World Trade Organization (WTO) has accomplished a lot in lowering tariffs among member countries based on the "most favored nation (MFN)" treatment obligation, member countries are actually bound to MFN tariff levels, which can be different for each country depending on their level of economic development. There also remains a lot to achieve on a multilateral basis, including the reduction of nontariff trade barriers that normally take the form of domestic regulations or border measures that discriminate against foreign goods and services.

Among its many structural deficiencies, the 70-year-old WTO is being criticized for its failure to make member countries bring WTO tariff commitments in line with their level of economic development. For less-developed country (LDC) members, the WTO provides various exceptions and special treatment provisions as leeway for self-declared LDC members to retain "policy........

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