The World Trade Organization (WTO) announced that Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (Nigeria) is “best placed to build consensus” to become its seventh Director-General. The United States, however, has indicated that it does not support Okonjo-Iweala’s candidacy.
At a meeting of heads of delegation on 28 October 2020, WTO General Council Chair David Walker (New Zealand) recommended Okonjo-Iweala for appointment as the next Director-General. He said her candidacy “enjoyed the broadest support” from members at all levels of development and all geographical regions, both in the final round of consultations and throughout the process.
“This was the assessment of the ‘troika’ of facilitators,” Walker stressed, and members are due to make a formal decision at a General Council meeting scheduled for 9 November. According to a WTO press release, the United States contested this assessment, indicating that it would continue to support Yoo Myung-hee (Republic of Korea) to succeed former Director-General Roberto Azevêdo.
Walker, with Dispute Settlement Body Chair Dacio Castillo (Honduras) and Trade Policy Review Body Chair Harald Aspelund (Iceland), held consultations with members from 19 to 27 October as part of the third and final stage of the selection process, which aims to “ensure a consensus decision by members”.
On May 14, 2020, Roberto Azevêdo (Brazil) announced who would leave his post on August 31. During the first phase of the selection process for the Director General, eight countries proposed candidates for the position. The candidates “were made known to the members” during the second phase of the selection process.
On July 31, the General Council decided that the third and last phase would consist of three phases of confidential consultations, to be held over a two-month period, beginning on September 7. During these consultations, the field of candidates was narrowed down eight to five and then five to two.
According to the procedures for the Director-General selection process adopted by WTO members in 2002, the key consideration in determining which candidate can achieve consensus is the “breadth of support” they receive from members. According to the WTO, the 2005 and 2013 Director-General selection processes defined breadth of support as “the distribution of preferences across geographic regions and across categories of Members generally recognized under WTO provisions,” namely least-developed countries (LDCs), developing countries, and developed countries. Walker noted that according to General Council decisions, “breadth of support means the largest membership.”
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