Are multilateral trading rules worth preserving?

• It is a gross misunderstanding to consider that the WTO and multilateral trading rules curtail the policy space for incentivising the domestic industry.
• India can no longer avail of specific exemptions from the treatment of its export subsidies under WTO rules.

There is never a boring day at the President Trump's White House or for the rest of the world reading about Trump. In the fairly sedate world of trade law and policy, he has ensured that businesses and industry are talking more about WTO, trade and trade rules than ever before. The most recent development in this regard is the "United States Fair and Reciprocal Tariff Act," (reported widely by its acronym as "FART") which would give the U.S. President unilateral power to ignore the basic principle of "Most-Favoured Nation" (MFN) treatment, and instead set different tariff rates for different countries. The draft law also proposes that the President would have powers to impose tariffs higher than