by Daniel Johnson
December 1, 2024
The WTO director-general ran unopposed.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is set to serve a second term as the head of the World Trade Organization following her reelection to the post on Nov. 29.
According to Reuters, her election will coincide with the term of Donald Trump, who has said that he plans to institute tariffs on goods originating outside of the United States of America.
The WTO director-general ran unopposed, and essentially had her return to office fast-tracked in order to avoid any risk of Trump blocking her appointment. Trump and his team have been critical of Okonjo-Iweala’s governance previously.
Okonjo-Iweala, for her part, told journalists that she is intent on delivering on her agenda following her reelection. “We have a full agenda to deliver…and we fully intend to get to work immediately, no stopping, to try and deliver on these results,” Okonjo-Iweala said.
She added that she can find common ground with Trump on some issues like intellectual property rights.
“I think we should come into things with a very constructive and creative approach to trying to deal with the issues that will face the world trading system,” she told journalists.
She did not, however, offer any commentary on Trump’s proposed tariffs, saying only that she believes it to be premature to issue a statement on his policy.
“Until we get specifics in terms of what is planned, I think it would be a bit premature to try to pronounce on these issues,” Okonjo-Iweala said, in reference to Trump’s plans.
“I think we should wait…for actual policies. And we’re very much looking forward to working in a productive fashion,” she concluded.
According to the Wyoming Tribune Eagle, the nature of Okonjo-Iweala’s reappointment is less about her and more about avoiding interference from Washington.
“It’s not so much that everyone loves Ngozi,” a source close to the negotiations told the outlet, members were “worried that if she doesn’t get reinstated, then it’s possible that the administration in Washington would slow things (or) block other contenders. The alternative of no one leading the organization is unacceptable to them.”
According to Keith Rockwell, a former WTO spokesperson and a senior research fellow at the Hinrich Foundation, her appointment “creates tensions in the relationship with the United States, for sure — tensions which would probably have been there under any circumstances, but now this raises the stakes.”
Rockwell also said that problems at the WTO are not all about Trump, “It is a time right now in which application of the WTO rules has deteriorated. You can’t blame all of this on the United States. That’s true of many other members as well.”
Dmitry Grozoubinski, the author of the book “Why Governments Lie About Trade,” added additional context in his comments to the outlet.
“Governments are increasingly turning to trade measures to address issues like national security, environmental competition, and re-industrialization, and policymakers aren’t as moved as they once were by arguments that their ideas violate the letter or spirit of WTO commitments,” Grozoubinski said.
He continued, “If President-elect Trump makes destroying the WTO a priority,” the organization’s “options will be limited as the institution is not built to withstand overt demolition from within its membership.”
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