The U.S. has vetoed a bid by the front-runner to be the World Trade Organization’s next director-general, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former Nigerian minister who is backed by China, the European Union countries and several key members of the organization.
Deputy U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Dennis Shea said on Wednesday his country won’t join a consensus to appoint Okonjo-Iweala because the U.S. supports her opponent, South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee, according to the World Trade Organization´s (WTO) spokesman Keith Rockwell.
China said it supported the outcome of the WTO process, Rockwell told reporters following Wednesday’s meeting.
“Minister Yoo is a bona-fide trade expert who has distinguished herself during a 25-year career as a successful trade negotiator and trade-policy maker,” the USTR’s office said in a statement. “This is a very difficult time for the WTO and international trade. There have been no multilateral tariff negotiations in 25 years, the dispute-settlement system has gotten out of control, and too few members fulfill basic transparency obligations. The WTO is badly in need of major reform. It must be led by someone with real, hands-on experience in the field.”
The U.S.’s lone resistance to the majority-backed Okonjo-Iweala opens the possibility of months of gridlock over the selection process and more diplomatic friction with trading partners like the European Union, according to Bloomberg.
WTO decisions are made by a consensus of its 164 members, which means a single country can create a stalemate to pressure others.
The Geneva-based institution will keep working to reach a consensus ahead of meeting of the General Council tentatively set for 09 November.
Okonjo-Iweala received a key endorsement earlier Wednesday from the WTO selection committee despite the U.S.’s expressions of support for Yoo. The EU, Japan, and much of Africa and Latin America are pushing for Okonjo-Iweala.
