Brazilian WTO leader announces early exit
Brazilian WTO leader announces early exit
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The current head of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Roberto Azevedo of Brazil, has announced he will step down in August, a year earlier than called for in his term’s length of service.
A Reuters report on the news called it “a surprise move.” Azevedo characterized it as a “personal decision” and reportedly commented in mid-May, “As members start to shape the WTO’s agenda for the new post-COVID realities, they should do so with a new director-general.”
The Europe-based organization has been under pressure from the Trump administration and other critics, many of whom state it has been lenient toward China’s perceived willingness to flout WTO rules.
Upon hearing of Azevedo’s announcement, President Trump reportedly commented that he was “OK with it” and that the WTO was “horrible,” according to Reuters.
Added Trump, ‘We’ve been treated very badly [by the WTO.] They treat China as a developing nation. Therefore China gets a lot of the benefits that the United States doesn’t get.”
President Trump has moved beyond rhetoric with the WTO. Since December 2019, he has not allowed the U.S. government to approve the appointment of any new appellate judges to the WTO, “paralyzing” the organization’s Appellate Body, according to reports. A Republican senator also has introduced a resolution for the U.S. to withdraw from the WTO.
The vacancy and existing tension caused Canacero, Mexico’s steel industry association, to comment in its May bulletin, “Given the resignation of Roberto Azevedo as director of the WTO, a battle is anticipated between China and the United States in search of a replacement.”
Continues Canacero, “In what is anticipated will be a geopolitical discussion on the future of international trade and organization, the appointment of the new director of the WTO will be the new front of possible clashes between the United States and China.”
Adds the group, “It would seem difficult for the new director of the WTO be a national of the U.S. or China, for the great polarization that it would provoke, nor of Europe given that Europeans have already held office in three occasions. However, some of the names that have started to circulate refer to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain, Arantxa González, and Cecilia Malmström, former Commissioner of the European Union. It also has been mentioned that it is time to appoint an African candidate.”
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Source: Recycling Today
Brazilian WTO leader announces early exit
<![CDATA[The current head of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Roberto Azevedo of Brazil, has announced he will step down in August, a year earlier than called for in his term’s length of service.A Reuters report on the news called it “a surprise move.” Azevedo characterized it as a “personal decision” and reportedly commented in mid-May, “As members start to shape the WTO’s agenda for the new post-COVID realities, they should do so with a new director-general.”The Europe-based organization has been under pressure from the Trump administration and other critics, many of whom state it has been lenient toward China’s perceived willingness to flout WTO rules.Upon hearing of Azevedo’s announcement, President Trump reportedly commented that he was “OK with it” and that the WTO was “horrible,” according to Reuters.Added Trump, ‘We’ve been treated very badly [by the WTO.] They treat China as a developing nation. Therefore China gets a lot of the benefits that the United States doesn’t get.”President Trump has moved beyond rhetoric with the WTO. Since December 2019, he has not allowed the U.S. government to approve the appointment of any new appellate judges to the WTO, “paralyzing” the organization’s Appellate Body, according to reports. A Republican senator also…