Whereas the United States is an original member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and a key architect of the institution; Whereas the WTO is a critical forum for strengthening the multilateral rules-based trading system and a bedrock of United States trade policy; Whereas the United States has provided the leadership and political will to advance the goal of the WTO to raise standards of living, expand the production of and trade in goods and services, create and enforce rules that reduce obstacles to international trade that help ensure a level playing field; Whereas sustained United States leadership in the WTO provides best paths to achieve necessary WTO reforms, create new trade rules that enhance opportunities for all, and address the needs and challenges of the United States and all other free and open economies in the 21st century; Whereas the WTO is the preferred forum in which member economies resolve disputes that arise among them; Whereas the United States has consistently supported having a functional, efficient dispute settlement mechanism at the WTO that strictly follows the Dispute Settlement Understanding as agreed by all WTO members and remains accountable to WTO members; Whereas the United States, for decades, has sought to strengthen the WTO dispute settlement system by advocating for necessary, thoughtful, and prudent reforms; Whereas the United States has expressed longstanding concerns that WTO Appellate Body, through its findings and procedural liberties, is improperly adding to or diminishing the rights or obligations of WTO members; Whereas the United States has consistently urged the WTO to improve transparency by requiring that all dispute settlement hearings at the WTO be open to the public, and all submissions by the parties be publicly available; Whereas, while several WTO members have joined the United States in agreeing to open hearings to the public and in making public submissions, most WTO Members continue to insist on closed hearings and confidential submissions