New WTO chief’s pledge on reforms gives Africa hope
Brazilian Roberto Azevedo, who was picked as the new WTO director-general to replace Frenchman Pascal Lamy from September 1, 2013. Photo/FILE
What you need to know:
Brazilian diplomat Roberto Azevedo singled out an overhaul of the three key pillars of the WTO — negotiation, implementation, and dispute resolution — as one of the areas that would urgently grab his attention.
The three pillars have been cause of frequent rift between developing nations and their rich counterparts, often fuelling sharp divisions at major global trade negotiations.
Like eight other developing nation candidates — who included Kenya Cabinet nominee for Foreign Affairs Amina Mohamed — Brazilian diplomat Roberto Azevedo may not have known before hand what lay ahead of him when he made a public bid for the World Trade Organisation (WTO) director-general’s job.
But with the benefit of hindsight, the presentation he made before the WTO General Council on January 31 now holds key to restoring developing countries’ faith in multilateral trade system.
In his presentation, the 55-year-old economist singled out an overhaul of the three key pillars of the WTO as one of the areas that would urgently grab his attention.
“The three pillars of the WTO — negotiation, implementation, and dispute resolution — must be updated or will soon become incapable of dealing with the demands of today’s changed world,” he said in a presentation.
The General Council Wednesday settled on Mr Azevedo to replace incumbent Pascal Lamy from September 1, just three days to the next round of Doha Development Agenda (DDA) scheduled for December in Bali.
Among others, Mr Azevedo trounced Ms Mohamed and Ghana Trade minister Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen.
Africa can, however, find new hope in the pledge to reform the three pillars of WTO and even use it to hold the leadership of the global trade body to account.
The three pillars have been cause of frequent rift between developing nations and their rich counterparts, often fuelling sharp divisions at major global trade negotiations such as the Bali forum.
It is because of perceived isolation in the three pillars that saw a record number of developing nations vying for the top job, each promising reforms that would empower their lot.
In the WTO negotiations involving its 157 members, the developing nations have been relegated to voiceless bystanders outshined by the superior technical and negotiation skills of their rich counterparts.
Experts say fear of domination in global negotiations by developed countries has paralysed DDA in the last 12 years.
In dispute resolution, the lengthy procedure has served as a barrier to many firms. For instance, a firm which feels aggrieved by regulators of another member state must first lodge its complaint with the national ministry in charge of trade.
This usually takes several weeks. Once adopted as a dispute against the country’s interests, the member state then begins to review the numerous WTO rules as well as commitments made by individual countries to put the case in a proper context. This can drag on for months.
After this, the member’s ability to argue the case is then put to the test at various stages.
