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TWN
Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (Oct24/05) Geneva, 9 Oct (D. Ravi Kanth) — A spokesperson for the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) on 8 October expressed sharp “concern” over the decision by the chair of the World Trade Organization’s General Council (GC) to formally commence the appointment process for the WTO’s next Director-General, saying emphatically that “this action was taken based on the Chair’s assumption of convergence, rather than consensus.” It remains moot whether the GC chair, Ambassador Petter Olberg of Norway, will suspend the appointment process that he said would begin on 8 October, following the comments made by the Office of the USTR to this writer late evening of 8 October. The USTR spokesperson told this writer in an email sent late evening of 8 October: “The United States is concerned that this action was taken based on the Chair’s assumption of convergence, rather than consensus.” “The United States will remain engaged in this process as it will with other aspects of governance and oversight of the World Trade Organization secretariat,” the spokesperson said. “The United States believes that a transparent and predictable selection process for [the] Director-General is in the best interest of the World Trade Organization,” the spokesperson wrote in the email. It could be inferred from the USTR spokesperson’s statement that the US wishes that the GC chair would have commenced the DG selection process on the basis of consensus. In fact, in his statement (Job/GC/410), the GC chair said that he had detected convergence among members to commence the process for the appointment of the next Director-General. This puts into question the impartiality of the GC chair, who through his actions, has allegedly undermined the WTO rules and regulations. He is setting a dangerous precedent, said a former GC chair, who asked not to be identified. More importantly, it is illegal for the GC chair to commence the process without a formal decision of the General Council. He is acting in the name of the General Council but he has not been given any mandate by the Council to commence the selection process, said the former GC chair. “His behaviour is irresponsible and has brought disrepute to the august body,” the former GC chair alleged. “It is clear that he is doing all this at the instigation of the European Union and the DG, who are concerned about the possible return of ex-President [Donald] Trump to the White House,” the former GC chair said. The GC chair must strictly adhere to the procedures for the appointment process as set out in document WT/L/ 509, particularly paragraph 7, like all his predecessors have done, the former GC chair added. Paragraph 7 of document WT/L/509 states: “The appointment process shall start nine months prior to the expiry of the term of an incumbent Director-General with a notification from the Chair to the General Council. The process shall conclude with a meeting of the General Council convened not later than three months prior to the expiry of an incumbent’s term, at which a decision to appoint a new Director-General shall be taken.” Since the incumbent DG’s first term expires on 31 August 2025, the selection process for the next DG ought to commence in the first week of December 2024, as per the procedures. In response to several questions posed by the SUNS on the alleged irregularities and violation of the procedures in a Whatsapp message on 5 October, the GC chair remained silent, after reading them. The position of Washington is rather ambivalent, as several delegates pointed out that if the US had expressed strong opposition, the GC chair would have backed down. By implicitly condoning the GC chair’s allegedly WTO-illegal DG selection process, the current US Administration seems to be going against the American tradition of not tying the hands of an incoming new US Administration, should ex-President Trump regain the White House. +
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