WTO postpones naming new Director-General

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has canceled the announcement of its new Director-General

meeting following the U.S. presidential election.

The Geneva-based agency, which serves as an international arbiter for trade disputes, confirmed it had

postponed a meeting scheduled for Monday that had been called to name Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

for the role.

Read Also: Okonjo-Iweala urges WTO to elect DG on merit, says she’s well suited

The WTO wrote in a statement: “For reasons including the health situation and current events, delegations will

not be in a position to take a formal decision on 9 November.”

The Trump administration was against her selection, despite the former finance minister winning massive

support amongst the WTO’s 164 members.

“Okonjo-Iweala had moved a step closer to becoming the first woman and the first African to be director of the

global trade watchdog after securing backing from the EU, China, Japan, and Australia. Liam Fox, the leading

Brexiter and former international trade secretary, had run as the UK government’s preferred candidate but failed

to win enough support from other countries to reach the last two in the process,” reported The Guardian.

Analysts have commented that Joe Biden’s victory over Trump last week may have prompted some member

states to seek a delay in the WTO race, to ensure the Biden White House’s support for Okonjo-Iweala.

She has previously served two terms as Nigeria’s finance minister and has also been her country’s foreign

minister. She’s also been the number two at the World Bank.

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