(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. remains committed to the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund said a report that cast doubt on speculation the Trump administration plans to withdraw from the Geneva-based organization.
“The authorities emphasized their strong commitment to the WTO and listed WTO reform as a key trade priority, welcoming reform proposals from other members,” the fund said in an annual report on the world's largest economy.
Axios reported July 1 that President Donald Trump ordered a draft bill that would declare the U.S. was abandoning WTO's system of global trade rules. On Monday, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said it was a “little premature” to discuss a U.S exit.
The IMF report released Tuesday also said U.S. officials consider tariffs “as a step toward creating the leverage needed to achieve more free, fair and reciprocal trade.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Andrew Mayeda in Washington at amayeda@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Murray at brmurray@bloomberg.net, Alister Bull
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