A major Canadian casualty of the current WTO paralysis is the never-ending softwood lumber dispute with the U.S.

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The world trading system, embodied in the World Trade Organization (WTO), is in great peril and lacks a real champion, notably neither the U.S. nor China — the top two global trading countries. The notion of multilateral trade liberalization and the system that provided stability, order and prosperity in the global economy for more than 75 years is being undermined by protectionism and economic nationalism on many fronts. Sadly, neither U.S. presidential candidate shows any sign of seeking to reinvigorate the WTO, so the prospects for resuscitation are dismal.

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The U.S., which spearheaded several successful global rounds of trade liberalization, has essentially abandoned its commitment to free trade and respect for the rule of law on trade. Implementing tariffs and massive subsidies across a range of industrial sectors, America has flagrantly violated basic WTO rules and principles. By blocking all appointments to the WTO’s Appellate Body — a group of seven judges that hears appeals about dispute resolution verdicts — it has neutered the WTO’s ability to enforce trade law. With no judges able to consider appeals, this body has been incapacitated since 2019. To evade punishment for its blatant violations of trade rules, the U.S. ignores judgments against it, and invokes the “appeal into the void” escape hatch. Any country can invoke the same tactic to prevent enforcement. The erosion of the WTO’s dispute resolution mechanism is the greatest single threat to world trade order.

After indulging heavily in the “open”........

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