Disputes at the World Trade Organization, 1995-2018

The WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) has power of sanction when arbitrating in trade disputes between member states. The grid shows that the two commercial giants formed by the United States and the European Union (EU, which sits in its own right and on behalf of its member states) are the focus of most complaints, whether they are themselves complainants or are the subject of complaints; against one another or against many other countries, some of them emerging, with China in the lead. In 2001 China became the 143rd member state of the WTO, but has only complained against the United States and the EU.