Election of WTO president, Korea between the US and China

The United States and China, competing for supremacy in all directions, clashed again over the appointment of the secretary general of the World Trade Organization (WTO). While several WTO member states supported Nigerian candidate Okonjoyweala (66), who was supported by China, the United States refused to do so and publicly supported Korea’s Minister of Commerce, Industry and Energy, Myung-hee Myung-hee (53, photo). will be.

When the WTO electoral war turned into a confrontation between the United States and China to win trade hegemony, the Korean government was in an uncomfortable situation.

According to government officials on the 29th, the WTO announced on the 28th (local time) that “Okonjoyweala of Nigeria won more votes than Director General Yoo in the election of the next secretary general.” Among the 164 member states of the WTO, many countries, including China, the European Union, Japan and Africa, are reported to have voted for Okonjoyweala.

The United States Trade Representative (USTR) then declared that he would exercise a de facto veto over candidate Okonjoyweala and officially endorse Director Yoo. In a statement of support to General Manager Yoo, the USTR argued that “the WTO is going through a very difficult time and needs significant reforms” and “there have been no multilateral tariff negotiations for 25 years and the dispute resolution system is out of control” . The Donald Trump administration has consistently criticized the WTO for being biased towards China and failing to avoid China’s unfair trade practices. On the other hand, China has been investing large amounts of money in Africa for a long time and is supporting candidate Okonjoyweala because it is more advantageous to increase its influence in the WTO when it joins Nigeria than Korea. EU support is also known to have acted as an antipathy to the “American unilateralism” of the Trump administration. Japan, which has a trade conflict with Korea, is said to have been working underwater to defeat Yoo. The WTO elects the Secretary General through a consensus in which all member states accept the results of the final vote in the form of a preference survey. Since the founding in 1995, the candidates who fell behind in the final have often voluntarily resigned. There is no precedent for the final vote against the final vote. As the WTO’s highest body, the Appeals Organization, has become ineffective against US opposition, analysts say that if the United States does not withdraw, the election of the secretary-general may exceed the November 9 deadline and fall into a long-term stalemate. Some believe that depending on the results of the US presidential election on November 3, the composition of the election of the WTO secretary general may once again be different.

The Korean government was in a difficult situation in the conflict between the United States, China and other major powers. There is concern that relations with the United States will be marred if the United States actively supports Director Yoo and voluntarily resigns after accepting the results of the final vote. On the other hand, there is also a way to continue fighting for a reversal in the consensus process of the member states. However, if the vacancy of the WTO chief is prolonged by unreasonable resistance, he could find himself tied to the United States and criticized by the international community.

Therefore, there is a tendency that inside and outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it is necessary to consider a plan for the ‘elegant exit’ of Yoo, who was expelled from the final vote. A diplomatic source said: “Korea has maintained its position to respect multilateral diplomacy and related procedures. It is also important to keep the accumulated images in the meantime.

Sejong = Go to [email protected] reporter page> / Reporter Jo Jung-yeop and Han Ki-jae