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Source Title: Foreign Media: US Rejects New Candidates for World Trade Leader or Leaves WTO Leaderless
According to a Reuters report in Geneva on October 28, after the United States rejected the proposal of a Nigerian woman to be the next director-general of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the efforts of the world trade watchdog to choose a new leader fell into uncertainty on the 28th.
Trade is a hot topic in the current US elections. And just six days before the election, Washington once again attacked the WTO, which was described by US President Trump as “hateful” and favored by China.
The Trump administration has crippled the organization’s role as a global trade arbiter by obstructing the selection of new members by the WTO Appellate Body. Now, you can leave the organization without a leader for weeks or months to come.
The WTO has scheduled a meeting for November 9, which is less than a week after the US elections, and hopes to win full support for Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala by then.
However, this decision requires unanimous approval, which means that any of the 164 WTO members can block their appointment.
After several weeks of negotiations, the three WTO ambassadors tasked with finding the successor to Brazilian Roberto Azevedo announced at a meeting here on the 28th that the former Nigerian finance minister should become the next director general. Because it has obtained interregional support.
WTO spokesman Keith Rockwell told reporters after this closed-door meeting: “All delegations that expressed their views today expressed strong support for this process, the ‘three-person team’ and the results. of the national team, except for one country. ”He specified that this country is the United States.
Subsequently, the Office of the United States Trade Representative issued a statement in which it stated that it officially supported Yu Myung Hee, the only candidate besides Ngozi Okonjo-Iweara, Minister of Trade and Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy. , and praised her as a successful trader. Negotiators have the skills to lead this business organization through “very tough times.”
The statement read: “It should be led by someone with practical experience in the field.” This may be a mockery of Okonjo-Iweala, the Nigerian candidate who was accused by critics of lacking technical expertise in multilateral trade negotiations.
William Reinsch, a former senior official at the US Department of Commerce and now at the US Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the US move is likely to exacerbate already tense trade relations within the WTO.
He said: “This is a typical Trump style. Its basic meaning is, ‘We do what we want, and if we are not satisfied, we are willing to create problems. He also said that this may be for other disputes. To win concessions.
A spokesperson for Okonjo-Iweala said he was “extremely humble” in his support for the WTO Selection Committee and hoped to complete this process as soon as possible.
The next step is still uncertain, but WTO spokesman Rockwell said that before the November 9 meeting, there is likely to be “crazy activity” to ensure the necessary consensus is reached.
It is unclear whether the results of the US elections will affect the US position on the appointment of Oconjo-Iweala. By then, Trump may lead a “lame duck” government.
Before 28, many WTO members, including China and the United States, refused to publicly express their inclination, but some countries in Africa, the Caribbean and other regions expressed their support for Oconjo-Iweala during the four-month selection process. . The European Union expressed its support for her on October 26.
After Azevedo left his post a year earlier, at the end of August, the post of Director-General of the WTO became vacant. Currently, the WTO is headed by 4 Deputy Directors General.
Hostile economies are arguing and tensions escalate, and the trade slump caused by the new crown epidemic has intensified protectionism. Oconjo Iweala, 66, who was Nigeria’s finance minister and executive vice president of the World Bank, will face daunting challenges.
Oconjo-Iweara, a development expert who calls herself a “doer,” said she has the political power to influence governments.
Okonjo-Iweala, current chair of the Council of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, also said that the WTO should play a role in helping poorer countries get new drugs and vaccines from the crown.
