WTO begins to select a new leader

Member countries of the World Trade Organization (WTO) yesterday completed hearings on the programs of candidates for the post of new director general. Representatives of developing countries, in particular Africa, have the highest chances of being elected. The candidates promise to modernize the WTO's internal structure and foreign policy, giving new impetus to years of negotiations to liberalize global trade. Ukraine has not yet decided who to support, but it will benefit from electing a head from representatives of developing countries.

Yesterday, three days of presentations by candidates for the post of its new head ended at the Secretariat of the World Trade Organization. Current CEO Pascal Lamy's four-year term expires on August 31 and he has not filed for re-election. There were nine applications for this post. The candidates were nominated by Brazil, Ghana, Jordan, Indonesia, Kenya, Costa Rica, Mexico, New Zealand and South Korea. The decision on electing the head of the WTO must be made before May 31.

The candidates expressed their vision of the development of world trade, primarily ways to break the deadlock in the Doha Round of negotiations on further liberalization of international trade. Therefore, the applicants themselves, in their speeches, emphasized that the future of the WTO depends on the diplomatic talents of the new head, his ability to force countries to compromise. "The WTO is not in a state of crisis. The organization is facing a deeper, slow-resolving problem of capacity," said New Zealand candidate Tim Groser. However, observers believe that the new CEO should be a representative of developing countries. Tim Groser admitted that in the event of a political choice, his chances are slim. It is doubtful that the other two candidates will lead the organization: Teajo Barca (South Korea) and Roberto Carvalho de Azevedo (Brazil).

The future of the WTO depends on the diplomatic talents of the new head and his ability to force countries to compromise

Challengers from developing countries promise to revamp the WTO. According to one of them, Kenya's representative to the UN, Amina Mohammed, "the decision that a woman, preferably an African woman, should be at the helm of the organization will send a very strong signal." And Jordan's former trade minister, Ahmad Hughan Hindawi, promises to bring a "new image" to the WTO, as well as "innovative and out-of-the-box thinking." At the same time, former Minister of Trade of Ghana Alan Kyerematen is also named among the election favorites - his candidacy was supported by the countries of the African Union and a number of states in the Caribbean region. At the same time, the largest players in world trade, such as the USA, EU and China, have not yet announced who they are going to support.

Ukraine has not yet decided which candidate deserves support the most. “Our permanent representative in Geneva is present at this meeting. He will submit a report on the main positions of the contenders, which we will analyze,” Valery Pyatnitsky, government commissioner for European integration, said the day before. “During the presentation, we first of all paid attention to the professional qualities of the candidates. The difference in their programs is insignificant. They all support the speedy advancement of the Doha round of negotiations, differing only on ways to achieve a compromise between all WTO members,” the representative office explained to Kommersant Ukraine at the UN and other international organizations in Geneva. Considering that the decision on the new head of the WTO will be made by consensus, consultations will last a long time. “We need a candidate who is sufficiently professional and equidistant to satisfy all members of the WTO, and including Laos (it will become a WTO member in February - Kommersant), there are 158 countries. Therefore, consultations can continue until the summer. During them, unpopular candidates will withdraw their candidacies,” notes Kommersant’s interlocutor.

According to the head of the analytical department of SP Advisors, Vitaly Vavrishchuk, the election of a candidate from developing countries as the new director general of the WTO may be to the advantage of Ukraine. “In this case, we should expect increased efforts to further liberalize world trade and simplify access to the markets of developed countries, primarily the EU and the USA,” says the expert. According to him, the four-year term of the new head of the WTO may not be enough to carry out such reforms. “In any case, the positive effect for Ukraine from the entry into force of a free trade regime with the EU is much higher than all possible steps to liberalize multilateral WTO agreements,” Mr. Vavrischuk clarified.

Yuri Panchenko

Trade is the head of everything