Axios: Trump Has Repeatedly Told Aides He Wants to Quit the WTO

President Donald Trump has repeatedly told top White House officials he wants the United States to withdraw from the World Trade Organization, the news website Axios reported Friday, citing unnamed people involved in the talks.

According to Axios, a source who has discussed the subject with Trump quoted the president as frequently telling advisers: "I don’t know why we’re in it. The WTO is designed by the rest of the world to screw the United States."

However, Axios said any withdrawal from the WTO would require an act of the U.S. Congress, and that Trump was unlikely to carry out his wish.

"Sources with knowledge of the situation say the Trump administration will continue to call attention to various ways in which the U.S. encounters what some Trump advisers perceive is unfair and unbalanced treatment within framework of the WTO," it said.