The World Trade Organization (WTO) has been unable to select an interim head due to a deadlock among members who must still agree in November to replace outgoing Director-General Roberto Azevedo, the Geneva-based body said on Friday (31.07.2020).
The interim chief would normally have been one of four deputy directors-general who are from China, Germany, Nigeria and the United States. The WTO said on Friday that instead all would remain in their current roles.
"The original effort was to try to appoint an interim CEO from among the four… That was not possible. We were not able to reach a consensus on that."WTO spokesman Keith Rockwell said at a briefing.
«Current CEO Roberto Azevedo said it was disappointing"He added.
The role would be largely administrative for a couple of months. One potential difficulty, however, concerns the WTO's role in dispute settlement. If the parties in a case cannot agree on the composition of a three-person panel, as is often the case, the director-general can step in to select them.
WTO members also agreed Friday that they would select the next director-general by narrowing the initial field of eight to five, then to two before a final decision is made.
The 164 WTO members would be invited to select four preferred candidates in the first round from 7 to 16 September..
A "troika" of ambassadors chairing the WTO's main committees would determine which candidates have broad support across all regions and from least developed to developed countries.
The new leader must be elected before November 7.
Source: Reuters
Aduana News is the first Argentine customs newspaper to launch its digital version. With 20 years of experience, its publications and initiatives aim to provide the most relevant knowledge on customs issues in order to contribute to safe trade in the region.
