US rejection throws WTO leadership race into uncertainty

Trade body fails to secure full backing for Nigerian candidate to become next chief

GENEVA • The World Trade Organisation's (WTO) bid to select a new leader was plunged into uncertainty on Wednesday after the United States rejected the Nigerian woman proposed as the global trade watchdog's next director-general.

Six days before the US election in which trade is a hot topic, Washington struck another blow at the WTO, which US President Donald Trump has described as "horrible" and biased towards China.

The Trump administration has already paralysed the WTO's role as global arbiter on trade by blocking appointments to its appeals panel. Now, it threatens to render it leaderless for weeks or months to come.

The WTO has called a meeting for Nov 9, less than a week after the election, by which time it hopes to have secured full backing for Nigeria's Ms Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

But the decision still needs to be approved by consensus, meaning any of the 164 WTO members could block her appointment.

After weeks of consultations, three WTO ambassadors, charged with finding a successor to Brazilian Roberto Azevedo, announced on Wednesday that the former Nigerian finance minister should be the next chief as she had secured cross-regional backing.

"All of the delegations that expressed their views today expressed very strong support... Except for one," WTO spokesman Keith Rockwell said, specifying that the one was the US.

The US Trade Representative's office later released a statement officially backing the only other remaining candidate, South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee, praising her as a successful trade negotiator with the skills needed to lead the trade body at a "very difficult time".

"It must be led by someone with real, hands-on experience in the field," it said in a dig at the Nigerian candidate who critics say lacks technical knowledge of multilateral trade talks.

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The leadership race for the World Trade Organization has been thrown into disarray after the United States opposed the appointment of former Nigerian finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

Mr William Reinsch, a former senior Commerce Department official now with the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said the US move was likely to worsen trade tensions already running high within the WTO.

"It's very Trumpian. They're basically saying, 'We want to get our way and we're willing to throw sand in the gears if we don't get it,'" he said.

Ms Okonjo-Iweala's spokesman said she was "immensely humbled" by the backing of the WTO's selection committee and hoped for a swift conclusion to the process.

Mr Rockwell said there was likely to be "frenzied activity" before the Nov 9 meeting to secure the required consensus.

Many members, including China and the US, had declined to name their preference publicly before Wednesday, though some African, Caribbean and other states had voiced support for Ms Okonjo-Iweala during the four-month selection process. The European Union endorsed her on Oct 26.

The leadership void was created after the outgoing WTO chief, Mr Azevedo, stepped down a year early in August. The WTO is currently being steered by four deputies.

Ms Okonjo-Iweala, 66, a former finance minister and World Bank managing director, would face considerable challenges, with rival economies bickering amid rising tensions, protectionism and a coronavirus-induced trade plunge.

REUTERS

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 30, 2020, with the headline US rejection throws WTO leadership race into uncertainty. Subscribe