The World Trade Organization’s top official is quitting before his term ends in 2021.
Roberto Azevedo, the 62-year-old Brazilian, top official of the World Trade Organization (WTO), announced he is quitting before his term ends in 2021, setting up a potentially contentious search for a successor at an organization caught in the middle of an economic fight between the U.S. and China in the early days of a global recession.
Bloomberg reports that his departure comes at a precarious time for a global economy that’s suffering the worst downturn since the Great Depression because of the coronavirus pandemic — with trade worldwide projected to recede to historic lows and trade policies becoming a contentious political issue from Brussels to Beijing. Internally, the Geneva-based trade body was already struggling with an array of crises before the blow to international commerce. Going back to his 2016 campaign, President Donald Trump has called the WTO the worst trade deal the U.S. ever made, mainly because China was allowed to join in 2001 — a move that was supposed to speed Beijing’s reforms toward a more market-based system integrated with the world economy. That happened far too slowly for some critics.
Azevedo, in an interview, sought to explain the timing about his departure, saying “It’s the best thing for me, my family and the organization,” he said, adding that it’s not for health reasons or other political ambitions. “We are doing nothing now — no negotiations, everything is stuck. There’s nothing happening in terms of regular work.”
The search may be complicated by the fact that it will largely be conducted online because of the WTO’s pandemic restrictions on in-person meetings, but at least three candidates have previously announced their intention to replace Azevedo:
- Abdelhamid Mamdouh, an Egyptian attorney at King & Spalding LLP and former Director of the Trade in Services and Investment Division of the WTO
- Yonov Frederick Agah of Nigeria, a WTO deputy director-general
- Eloi Laourou, Benin’s ambassador to the UN
If WTO members are unable to pick a new director-general by Sept. 1, one of four deputy directors-general may serve as an interim caretaker. They are Agah of Nigeria, Karl Brauner of Germany, Alan Wolff of the U.S. and Yi Xiaozhun of China.
