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TWN
Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (Feb22/23)
Swiss envoy to chair WTO General Council this year Geneva, 24 Feb (D. Ravi Kanth) - The Swiss trade envoy Ambassador Didier Chambovey is expected to take over as the new chair of the WTO's General Council on 24 February, replacing the much-praised GC chair Ambassador Dacio Castillo from Honduras. Botswana's trade envoy Ambassador Athaliah Lesiba Molokomme is likely to replace Ambassador Chambovey as the new chair of the Dispute Settlement Body. Ms Molokomme chaired the Trade Policy Review Body (TPRB) during the past one year. Apparently, she is expected to be replaced by Mexican Ambassador Angel Villaobros Rodriguez as the new chair of the TPRB, said people familiar with the roster of the new chairs. The chair of the TRIPS Council is expected to be Ambassador Lansana Gberie from Sierra Leone. He will replace Norway's trade envoy Ambassador Dagfinn Sorli. The French trade envoy Ambassador Etienne Oudot de Dainville is likely to be the chair of the WTO's Goods Council, while Cambodia's trade envoy Ambassador Kemvichet Long is expected to chair the Council for Trade in Services, SUNS was told. The appointment of the chairs of the various subsidiary bodies has raised sharp concerns, with some countries such as Singapore, Korea, and Chinese Taipei apparently securing a slot almost every year during the past ten years, while other major developing countries in the Asia region are being ignored during this period, said people familiar with the development. Interestingly, both Singapore and Korea, who had renounced their entitlement to special and differential treatment, seem to fall in the bracket of developed countries, said people, who asked not to be quoted.
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