"The U.S. is turning its back on the multilateral trading system it helped create after World War II, threatening Americans' intellectual property ("Trump Leaves Services Out of Trade Math," U.S. News, April 12). Embodied by institutions such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), this system has provided stability through clear trade rules and dispute-settlement mechanisms, fostering global economic growth that has benefited the U.S. economy. The notion that these institutions exploit America is misguided.
While the current trade war focuses on goods such as machinery and soybeans, the most valuable U.S. exports are intellectual-property-intensive products, which are protected by copyrights and patents.
The most important set of international rules protecting IP rights is the WTO's Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, or Trips. The agreement obligates member countries to provide IP rights, with limited exceptions, and enforce them at their borders and in national courts.
If the U.S. ignores its WTO obligations, other members may reciprocate by denying IP protection to U.S. products or issuing compulsory licenses at government-set prices -- Trips violations that leave the U.S. with little recourse if it isn't a WTO member in good standing. The usual recourse to retaliatory tariffs against such a country would likely be ineffective given the current high tariff policy.
America's disengagement from the multilateral trading system endangers the global IP-rights regime that protects the value of our most lucrative exports. Reforming the system to safeguard IP better should be the priority, not abandoning it altogether and inviting retaliation against American innovation.
Prof. Daniel J. Gervais
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, Tenn." [1]
1. Trump Endangers Our Most Lucrative Exports. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 23 Apr 2025: A14.
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