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Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (May20/26) Geneva, 26 May (D. Ravi Kanth) – The chair of the Doha agriculture negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO), Ambassador John Deep Ford from Guyana, announced on Monday his resignation, to take effect from 30 June. At a virtual meeting of the Doha agriculture negotiating body on 25 May, Ambassador Ford told members that due to the postponement of the WTO’s 12th ministerial conference (MC12) from June 2020 to June next year, he considered it “appropriate for a new chair to be appointed as soon as possible to establish a new work programme in the run-up to MC12, taking into consideration the consequences of COVID-19 and the extended period for negotiation.” The Guyana government had appointed Ambassador Deep Ford as their trade envoy to the WTO almost three years ago. He took over as the chair of the Doha agriculture negotiating body in April 2018. Earlier, Ambassador Ford had served as a public servant in various international bodies, including the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) based in Rome. Following major political developments in George Town, the capital of Guyana, Ambassador Ford’s continuation in Geneva beyond June has become almost impossible, said sources, who asked not to be identified. Ahead of the announcement on Monday (25 May), Ambassador Ford apparently informed around 10 countries, particularly members of the Cairns Group, that he has chosen to resign due to uncertainty, sources said. Surprisingly, Ambassador Ford did not inform other members about his resignation such as the United States, the European Union, China and India, the sources said. DG SELECTION PROCESS DELAYED Meanwhile, in another development, due to specific objections raised by the African Group, the General Council (GC) chair, Ambassador David Walker from New Zealand, has delayed until 8 June the start of the selection process for a new Director-General, said trade envoys, who asked not to be quoted. Following the announcement on 14 May by current Director-General Roberto Azevedo, to step down from office on 31 August, the GC chair appears to have accelerated the selection process to appoint a new DG within three months regardless of the existing rules, said a trade envoy, who asked not to be quoted. In his urgent email sent to members on 20 May, the GC chair said that he has extended the start of the selection process for choosing the new director-general to 8 June, instead of 25 May, due to specific objections from one unnamed member. Ambassador Walker said in his telegram that he “received a specific objection regarding the commencement date for the nomination of candidates, and a request to delay that date by two weeks.” “As I did not receive any other reservations, I am adjusting the date of the start of the process to take that request into [consideration] … appointment of the next Director-General will therefore start on Monday, 8 June 2020.” The objection, apparently, was from Botswana, the coordinator of the African Group, said a trade envoy, who asked not to be quoted. Trade envoys of the African Group have sought more time to enable their leaders to decide on the African Union’s choice. The AU leaders are expected to meet in July to decide who ought to be their candidate among the three short-listed candidates. The three candidates short-listed by the African Union in January are Egypt’s Abdul Hamid Mamdouh, the former director of the WTO’s services division, Benin’s current trade envoy to the WTO Ambassador Eloi Laourou, and Nigeria’s former trade envoy and now the deputy director-general to the WTO, Ambassador Yonov Frederick Agah. Kenya’s former foreign minister and also the former GC chair Amina Mohamed has also indicated that she is throwing her hat into the DG race. It is not clear what the African Union will decide, the trade envoy said, who asked not to be quoted. Against this backdrop, Ambassador Walker said that “in line with the Procedures for the Appointment of Directors-General adopted by the General Council in 2002 and contained in WT/L/509, Members will have one month to nominate candidates.” The General Council decision about the appointment of the Director-General, as contained in WT/L/509, adopted in December 2002, had unambiguously stated that “the appointment process shall start nine months prior to the expiry of the term of an incumbent Director-General with a notification from the Chair to the General Council. The process shall conclude with a meeting of the General Council convened not later than three months prior to the expiry of an incumbent’s term, at which a decision to appoint a new Director-General shall be taken.” “Members shall have one month after the start of the appointment process to nominate candidates. Nominations shall be submitted by Members only, and in respect of their own nationals. The candidates nominated shall then have three months to make themselves known to Members and to engage in discussions on the pertinent issues facing the Organization. The remaining two months prior to the conclusion of this process shall be devoted to selecting and appointing one of the candidates,” the GC decision had stated. The GC decision had also said that “in the event of a vacancy in the post of Director-General, the General Council shall designate one of the existing deputy directors-general to serve as Acting Director-General until the appointment of a new Director-General.” It stipulated that after designating an existing deputy director-general to serve as the acting DG, the chair of the GC “shall initiate, as soon as possible, a process for appointment of new Director-General, in keeping with the procedures set out herein, and may establish expedited deadlines as necessary in consultations with members.” But according to the GC chair, “in view of the exceptional situation and in keeping with the Procedures, I remain available to consult with Members with a view to establishing expedited deadlines as necessary for this process and will be engaging with Members on such deadlines in the coming days with a view to providing an initial report to Members on the state of my consultations at the General Council meeting on 29 May.” Ambassador Walker said that he “shall be assisted in the appointment process by the Chairpersons of the Dispute Settlement Body and the Trade Policy Review Body acting as facilitators. They will be Ambassador Dacio Castillo (Honduras) and Ambassador Harald Aspelund (Iceland), respectively.” He suggested the following process: “The appointment process will start on Monday 8 June 2020. In line with the Procedures, Members shall have one month after the start of the appointment process to nominate candidates, i.e. from 8 June to 8 July 2020. All nominations and supporting information must be addressed to me, as Chairman of the General Council, and must be received by 8 July 2020.” In a Job/GC/230 document issued on 20 May, Ambassador Walker further explained that “as early as possible after the close of the one-month nomination process, candidates will be invited to meet with Members at a formal General Council meeting, at which they will be invited to make a brief presentation, including their vision for the WTO, to be followed by a question-and-answer period.” According to a Bloomberg news report on 22 May, “Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez has the European Union’s support to become the next head of the World Trade Organization.” “US opposition means that former EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom has no chance of landing the WTO’s top post, the German magazine (Wirtschaftswoche) says, citing unidentified officials in Brussels. Diplomats in talks in Geneva have expressed sympathy for an African successor, but were unable to identify a compelling candidate,” the Bloomberg report said. The former European Union trade commissioner Peter Mandelson, now from the United Kingdom, has also indicated his intention to lead the WTO after Azevedo’s departure. New Zealand’s former trade and environment minister Tim Groser is also being talked about as a possible candidate for the DG post.
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