|
||
|
TWN
Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (Jul24/08) Geneva, 9 Jul (D. Ravi Kanth) — Attempts to allegedly circumvent the rules in selecting the incumbent World Trade Organization’s Director-General, Ms Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, for a second term came into the open after the African Group appears to have pitched for a decision to expedite the process at the upcoming WTO General Council (GC) meeting later this month, said people familiar with the development. The proposal was supposed to be sent to the WTO’s Council and Trade Negotiations Committee Division, said people familiar with the development. At the time of writing, it is not clear whether the proposal has been formally submitted to the Division. The proposal, titled “Appointment of Director-General [to a Second Term]”, which is signed by the African Group Coordinator, Chad, cites WTO document WT/L/509, which lays out the conditions to be met by the GC chair in the DG selection process. It cites Article 7 of document WT/L/509, which states unambiguously: “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.” The DG’s current term ends on 31 August 2025, and as per Article 7 above, the selection process must commence in December this year. Incidentally, it coincides with the election of a new President in the United States. Going by the current early poll predictions in the US, Donald Trump is likely to emerge again as the next US President. The Trump administration had blocked the selection of Ms Okonjo-Iweala as WTO DG in mid-2020. According to a news report in Financial Times on 19 January 2021, the former US Trade Representative in the Trump administration, Ambassador Robert Lighthizer, said that Ms Okonjo-Iweala “had no experience in trade at all.” “We need a person who actually knows trade, not somebody from the World Bank, who does Development,” Ambassador Lighthizer told FT in the interview. “We need a trade person with real trade experience,” he added. “And there are very few areas where you would say, “here’s an organisation in very bad shape, let’s get someone who knows nothing about its core mission”.” However, after the defeat of Trump in the November 2020 elections, the new Democratic administration promptly supported the current DG for a term starting in March 2021. Perhaps to avoid the likely adverse consequences of a Trump victory, several attempts are allegedly underway to secure a second term for Ms Okonjo-Iweala, said people familiar with the development. AFRICAN GROUP’S REQUEST It is against this backdrop that the African Group seems to have pitched its request, citing Article 12 of document WT/L/509, which states: “Where a serving Director-General decides to seek reappointment, he or she shall so notify the Chair of the General Council before the start of the process, and shall thereby be considered to be a candidate. The Chair shall inform Members of the candidature of the incumbent Director-General, in order that they may take this into consideration in submitting their nominations.” After citing these procedural rules which mention the time-frame as well as the incumbent DG’s right to seek a second term, the African Group said that “it would be in the best interests of the Organisation if she were to serve a second term for a number of reasons.” The African Group offered the following three reasons: * “Firstly, she has ably steered the WTO secretariat during challenging times and facilitated the Organisation through two crucial ministerial conferences, MC12 in June 2022 and MC13 in February 2024. * Secondly, it would be important in order to ensure continuity, preserve the gains made and ensure implementation of the MC12 and MC13 decisions. * Thirdly, it would ensure that preparations for MC14 are not conducted at the same time as the equally important process of appointing a Director General for the Organization.” Further, Chad, the African Group coordinator, stated that “stability at the helm of the WTO is particularly critical considering the prevailing geo-political environment that is characterised by conflicts that threaten global peace and security, with potentially adverse consequences for the rules-based multilateral trading system.” It requested “the current DG, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to make herself available to serve a second term, in accordance with Article 12 of the Procedures for the Appointment of Directors-General (WT/L/509).” It called for the Chairperson of the GC to begin the appointment process “as soon as possible, in the best interests of the Organisation.” Finally, the African Group urged “WTO members to support this proposal with a view to achieving the provisions of Article 2 of the Procedures for the Appointment of Directors-General (WT/L/509),” which states that “the overriding objective of Members in this process shall be to reach decisions by consensus.” “CIRCUMVENTION” OF WTO RULES? Interestingly, while the African Group correctly cites the requisite Articles of document WT/L/509 of a rules- based, member-driven organization, it is somewhat openly suggesting circumventing the WTO rules, said people familiar with the development. Moreover, the geo-political environment cannot be a factor for circumventing the rules-based multilateral trading system, said a trade envoy who asked not to be identified. An expert on African Union (AU) procedures weighed in on the African Group’s proposal at the WTO, saying that: “The African Group in Geneva cannot take political decisions on the selection of African candidates because it undermines the strictly enforced rules of procedure of the AU Ministerial Committee on Candidatures within the International System adopted by AU Heads of State which is decided in Addis Ababa.” According to the WTO rules, a current DG seeking reappointment must only notify the GC chair before the start of the selection process. There is no requirement for WTO members to table a request for reappointment. On condition of anonymity, a WTO expert said that “this unnecessarily politicizes the selection by co-opting a group like the African Group this early on, whose 45-Member votes are crucial for the legitimacy of the selection process.” It is understood that at the time of writing, there is no consensus within the African Group to support the re- election of the DG. Such attempts to allegedly circumvent the WTO rules could cause irreparable damage to the 166-member organization, said people familiar with the development. In effect, a decision has only to be made by 31 May 2025 considering that Ms Okonjo-Iweala’s first term ends on 31 August 2025. RETREAT Heads of Delegation congregate on 8 July for a one-day retreat at the Hotel Geneva Hilton at a cost of CHF 50,000 (over US$50,000) when the WTO is allegedly facing a funding crunch. The one-day retreat was expected to brainstorm on how to improve the decision-making processes at the WTO. There are growing fears over alleged attempts to set aside the practice of decision-making by consensus as per Article IX of the Marrakesh Agreement. It remains to be seen whether the issue of the DG’s second term will figure in the brainstorming discussions. +
|
||
