GENEVA (AP) - The head of the World Trade Organization says he understands that President Donald Trump wants to create U.S. jobs, but warns that getting tough on trade can trigger a "domino effect" that could derail such goals in the first place.

Speaking to The Associated Press, Roberto Azevedo waded delicately into the possible impact of a simmering U.S.-China dispute involving tit-for-tat tariffs that could escalate into a trade war with consequences for the global economy.

Asked if he could understand Trump supporters who want to see U.S. manufacturing jobs return home, Azevedo said that "every country, every leader" wants to create jobs, improve work conditions and improve salaries.

Brazilian Roberto Azevedo, Director General of the World Trade Organization, WTO, speaks during a press briefing about the WTO's World Trade Report 2017 at the headquarters of the World Trade Organization, WTO, in Geneva, Switzerland, Thursday, April 12, 2018. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP)

But, he said, "actions that you take are not the end of the process" but can prompt retaliation.

"And that kind of domino effect may have implications that will undermine your original goals," he said.

Trump has led efforts to slap penalties on $150 billion worth of imports from China, creating fears of a trade war among investors and leading to wild swoons in global stock markets. China has responded with a decision to tax $50 billion in U.S. products like soybeans and small aircraft.

Under the leadership of the Brazilian-born lawyer, the 23-year-old WTO has faced criticism that is ill-equipped to ensure fair and free trade - as epitomized by Trump's complaints about a yawning U.S. trade deficit with China and claims it is swiping coveted intellectual property.

Trump has called the WTO "unfair" to the United States, raising speculation that the U.S. might exit the organization if its efforts to challenge Chinese policies through the trade body don't go its way.

"I think the WTO doesn't run the risk of losing anybody right now," Azevedo said of its 164 members. "I have no indication whatsoever that the U.S. is planning to walk out, and they have not attached their permanence in the WTO to any kind of outcome.

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