The United States’ refusal to reappoint judges to the WTO Appellate Body will potentially render the appellate mechanism functionless at the end of this year. One of the alleged justifications provided by the Trump Administration – the treatment of previous Appellate Body reports as precedent – is the subject of this article. By examining the WTO legal framework as well as relevant case law, the paper demonstrates that the criticism in this regard is unjustified, and instead rather serves to conceal the dissatisfaction with consecutive negative decisions by panels and the Appellate Body, dismantling protectionist US measures.