The World Trade Organization was due to suspend its arrangements to settle disputes between member states last night. This represents the biggest threat to the trade body in its 25-year history, and has been forced on the organisation by the US. Two of the judges who sit on the panel that oversees trade disputes, the appellate body, will retire on December 10. With the US blocking new appointees this means there are no successors and, with just one judge remaining, the body will not be able to hear new cases. The global trading system is about to lose its independent arbiter.
世界貿易組織(WTO)用于解決成員國間爭端的機制暫停運作。這是該貿易組織成立25年來面臨的最大威脅,是美國強加給該組織的。WTO中主管貿易爭端的小組即上訴機構有兩名法官于12月10日卸任。由于美國阻止任命新法官,這意味著他們沒有繼任者,現在上訴機構只剩下一名法官,無法受理新案件。全球貿易體系已喪失其獨立的仲裁機構。