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WTO: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala faces tall order to reform global trade body, Chinese experts say
- Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala faces a steep challenge to reform the World Trade Organization, including its dysfunctional appeals body, Chinese experts say
- Restoring its Appellate Body will be a priority for the Nigerian as she starts her term as the first woman and first African to lead the global trade body
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The new director general of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, faces an uphill battle to reform the global body, especially as China and the United States remain far apart on key issues like subsidies, Chinese economic experts say.
Okonjo-Iweala – the first woman and first African leader of the organisation – will take control of the WTO at one of the most difficult periods in its history, and faces a herculean task to restore the battered institution.
The 164-member WTO has been operating without its Appellate Body, which arbitrates global trade disputes, since December 2019 after the Trump administration blocked the appointment of new judges. The Trump government had also refused to back Okonjo-Iweala’s candidacy, leading to months of delay until the Biden administration withdrew US opposition.
Speaking at a virtual press conference after her confirmation early this week, Okonjo-Iweala said reforming the dysfunctional appeals system was a priority.
The WTO is a member-driven organisation, which means all its major decisions are made by a consensus of 164 governments, not the director general
Among other issues she will have to address are long-standing complaints from the US and Europe about subsidies enjoyed by Chinese state firms favoured by the government
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