The Trump administration has fired another volley at global the institutional order that the United States both created and sustained over the post-WWII period.

In the crosshairs is the WTO appellate body (AB), a council of seven individuals who act as a court of appeal for rulings handed down by the panel process. The AB was established alongside the WTO in 1995 (from the GATT); it hears cases referred by WTO members, and its judgements are considered final and irreversible.