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TWN
Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (Sep25/09) Geneva, 17 Sep (D. Ravi Kanth) — The World Trade Organization Director-General, Ms. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on 16 September appointed a 67-year-old academic from the United States as Chief Economist and Director of the WTO’s Economic Research and Statistics Division (ERSD), allegedly in violation of the WTO’s mandatory retirement age of 65. The move was allegedly intended to appease Washington, said people familiar with the development. Despite the Trump administration having withheld its annual dues to the WTO for the past two years, Ms. Okonjo-Iweala is reportedly going to great lengths to placate the US government by appointing three American citizens to senior positions: one as Deputy Director-General (nominated by the White House); one to head the Intellectual Property, Government Procurement and Competition Division; and now a 67-year-old US academic as Chief Economist. People familiar with these developments described these appointments as being politically motivated. In announcing the latest appointment, Ms. Okonjo-Iweala stated that she was “delighted to announce the appointment of Professor [Robert] W. Staiger to the position of Chief Economist and Director, ERSD”- despite Professor Staiger being two years past the WTO’s official retirement age of 65. People familiar with the development noted the apparent contradiction. “This is a clear violation of WTO rules on appointments,” said a former WTO official, who asked not to be quoted. The official added that at a time when the global community is criticizing the Trump administration for its imposition of allegedly unilateral and illegal reciprocal tariffs, the DG herself appears to be disregarding the WTO’s institutional rules on multiple fronts. The US has not paid its annual dues to the WTO for the past two years, and it remains unclear whether payment will be made this year, according to people familiar with the development. With the WTO’s finances already in a precarious state, the DG’s reportedly extravagant spending on international travel and the appointment of high-level officials – some allegedly in breach of the established rules – are further exacerbating the organization’s financial strain, these sources said. In July, Ms. Okonjo-Iweala appointed Ms. Jennifer D. J. Nordquist, a senior economic official in the Trump administration, as Deputy Director-General (DDG), replacing former DDG Angela Ellard – an American nominee of the previous Biden administration. People familiar with the development confirmed the transition. Earlier, in March, Ms. Okonjo-Iweala appointed another American national, Ms. Tanuja Garde, as Director of the Intellectual Property, Government Procurement and Competition Division. The appointment of Ms. Nordquist as DDG has reportedly brought the Director-General closer to the Trump administration – even as the unilateral tariffs imposed by the US have caused, in the view of many, irreversible damage to the multilateral trading system and the WTO itself, observed several trade envoys, speaking on condition of anonymity. Moreover, these envoys said that the appointment appears to have defused potential tensions between the DG and the Trump administration. During President Donald Trump’s first term, then US Trade Representative, Ambassador Robert Lighthizer, had reportedly blocked Ms. Okonjo-Iweala’s initial bid to become Director-General, citing her lack of direct trade policy experience. +
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