Editorial | New director general provides hope of a revival for the WTO
- Challenges abound for the World Trade Organization, but the appointment of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in the wake of the new US administration creates a pathway for the return of multilateralism
Globalisation holds the key to pulling the world’s economy from the depths of Covid-19 despair. But the World Trade Organization, which helped set the rules and established a dispute mechanism to make the free and open movement of goods and services possible, has largely been weakened by American protectionism.
There is hope for the body’s revival now that a new director general has been chosen; Nigerian economist Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is its first woman and African leader and much is riding on her negotiating prowess. She owes her appointment to new United States President Joe Biden’s belief in the necessity of multilateralism and alliances, although she has to still navigate the geopolitical uncertainty created by his country’s increased competition and rivalry with China.
Dr Okonjo-Iweala, 66, would seem well-suited for the job. Although a development economist with little trade world experience, she has great understanding of what it takes to bring disparate sides together. She was the World Bank’s managing director and served as Nigeria’s finance and foreign ministers.
Former US president Donald Trump’s administration held up her WTO appointment, claiming she was too inexperienced, but electoral defeat and Biden’s taking office led to consensus.
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Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala becomes first African, first woman director general of WTO
She says her priority is to ensure the free and even flow of vaccines and medical supplies to help halt the Covid-19 pandemic and enable the global economy to recover. Greater transparency among member nations, updating of trade rules, and new agreements on fisheries and e-commerce are also high on her to-do list.