Providing a Release Valve: The U.S.-China Experience with the WTO Dispute Settlement System

Ever-expanding global trade relations have spawned highly contentious disputes between the United States and the People's Republic of China, two of the world's most powerful economic juggernauts.These trade frictions have sparked an increased utilization of the World Trade Organization's (WTO) dispute settlement system.Has the WTO become a forum for proxy trade battles to play out between the United States and China?Or does the increase in trade disputes portend a more serious deterioration of economic relations that could devolve into an outright trade war?This Note addresses this trend toward resorting to WTO dispute settlement through the lens of the legal, cultural, and social aspects of the Sino-American trade relationship.The discussion demonstrates that both the United States and China exhibit a willingness to comply with WTO rulings for myriad reasons.These reasons are presented using a framework that analyzes the impact of the institutional structure of the WTO's dispute settlement system and the indirect benefits accrued through participation.While the WTO dispute settlement system provides both countries with a mechanism for resolving contentious trade issues, this Note attempts to advance a practical discourse about responsible management of WTO litigation.The United States and China have much to gain from the usage of the WTO's dispute settlement system to resolve trade frictions and would do well to maintain such an advantageous system.