What We Know About Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s Proposed Appointment as WTO Director-General

Nigeria’s former Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonji-Iweala has been highly recommend as the new Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Ngozi has continued to break records from the first-ever woman director-general to the first African likely to occupy the WTO’s office. For the first time in its 25-year history, the World Trade Organization might be led by a woman and an African woman at that.

WTO announced at the beginning of October that South Korea’s trade minister Yoo Myung-hee and former Nigerian finance minister qualified as the two finalists to become the next director-general. Okonjo-Iweala gathered 104 votes from 164 member countries to defeat South Korea’s trade minister.

Ngozi takes the sit from former director-general Roberto Azevedo who faced constant pressure from the U.S. Government. The U.S. made an accusation of unfair treatment during his tenure.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was expected to be announced the winner according to Bloomberg, but WTO has hit a major roadblock. The Trump administration has categorically said it will not back the appointment of Ngozi. This means the U.S. will act as a veto to disrupt the process.

If the general council cannot come to an agreement on a candidate, there’s a possibility of recourse to a vote as the last resort option. The U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer has pushed for South Korea’s trade minister Yoo Myung-hee.

If President Donald Trump wins the election which is set for next week, his administration plan to continue reshaping the WTO to resolve trade disputes.

Here’s an update from WTO:

After the meeting WTO spokesperson Keith Rockwell summed up the announcement by GC Chair Walker: “The candidate that had the best chance of attaining a consensus of the membership is Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of Nigeria. Consultations on the way fwd will start immediately", he said

— WTO (@wto) October 28, 2020

Photo Credit: @Arisetv