Trump threatens to withdraw from World Trade Organization: Report

US President Trump has threatened to pull out of the  World Trade Organization(WTO) if it "doesn't shape up", US media reported.

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"If they don't shape up, I would withdraw from the WTO," Trump told the US media house during an interview.

Trump has repeatedly blamed the WTO for alleged unfair trade practices against the US, sometimes even threatening he would take action against the trade body.

Trump's thoughts come even as the US is involved in a protracted trade war against China imposing tariffs on a number of goods entering America.

On Wednesday,  the United States lodged a complaint against Russia at the WTO challenging a "special protective measure" imposed on US imports against tariffs on steel and aluminium imposed by the Trump administration.

The United States said Russia was breaking WTO rules because additional duties applied only to US imports.  Russia has 60 days to settle the dispute, after which the United States could ask the WTO to set up a panel to adjudicate.

WTO came into being in 1994 replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade(GATT) after protracted negotiations between several countries, over 120 countries signed up to the agreement making it the largest trade body in the world.

The trade body considers "dispute resolution" as the central pillar of its existence encouraging member states to resolve trade differences mutually.