WTO~World Trade Organization is the body designed to promote and maintain peaceful trades between it's members, it also settles disputes and creates an enabling environment for both advanced economies and EMDEs (emerging markets and developing economies).
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The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations. At its heart are the WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s trading nations and ratified in their parliaments. The goal is to ensure that trade flows as smoothly, predictably and freely as possible."
sourceThe WTO has 164 member countries and others are seeking to join.
As economies are becoming more interconnected with increase in global trade and global financial openness the duty of the WTO has become more relevant. It's effect however has become less evident.
The current Director-General
Roberto Azevêdo was elected on the 1st of September, 2013 and re-elected at the end of his first four year term in 2017. During his tenure the body achieved some success but has been relatively ineffective for some years, with growing dispute between the three major players; the U.S. EU and China and it's inability to cut down subsidies on fishing. The Appellate body of the World Trade Organization (WTOAB) which is the de facto supreme Court of the WTO has also been crippled, as at last year, it couldn't meet the minimum number of judges (3) required to preside over a case, due to blocking of appointments by the U.S.
On the 14th of May, this year, he announced that he would be stepping down from his role, a year before the end of his tenure and amidst a global crisis which is putting a major strain on world trade. This has left the body in a search for a new Director-General before their next
ministerial conference which takes place next year in Kazakhstan.
The selection process includes;
• a
nomination period, were governments are allowed to present candidates, this lasts for a month, after which accepted candidates are invited to
meet the general council and present their mandate (15-17 July, 2020, the 2nd phase ends officially on the 7 September, 2020). The WTO then meets with other bodies to decide and
select a new Director-General before the deadline (*1st September, 2020, the date has been pulled back due to the nature of this year's election and there would be an acting Director-General from this date, till a new DG is selected).
Nomination period is currently over and 8 candidates have been accepted;
| Date nominated | Name | Nationality | Biography |
| _________________ | _________________ | _________________ | _________________ |
| 8 June 2020 | Dr Jesús Seade Kuri | Mexico | Link |
|
| 9 June 2020 | Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala | Nigeria | Link |
|
| 9 June 2020 | Mr Abdel-Hamid Mamdouh | Egypt | Link |
|
| 16 June 2020 | Mr Tudor Ulianovschi | Moldova | Link |
|
| 24 June 2020 | Ms Yoo Myung-hee | Republic of Korea | Link |
|
| 7 July 2020 | Ms Amina C. Mohamed | Kenya | Link |
|
| 8 July 2020 | Mr Mohammad Maziad Al-Tuwaijri | Kingdom of Saudi Arabia | Link |
|
| 8 July 2020 | Dr Liam Fox | United Kingdom | Link |
What's your opinion on the candidates and who do you think is "most likely" and "best equipped" to lead the organization? And would that be the same person?
Advocates of the free market has been in opposition to the activities of the WTO for years, do you think we are better off without the body?
