THE World Trade Organization’s (WTO) efforts to elect a new leader next week could be delayed for at least another month because of the rapid spread of COVID-19 in Switzerland.

While some in-person meetings may be virtual, it was gathered that senior WTO officials are discussing whether to postpone their plan to formally confirm Nigeria’s candidate, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, as the next director-general of the WTO.

On Nov. 1, Geneva’s cantonal authorities announced strict new lockdown measures amid a surge in infections and hospitalizations in the Swiss city.

From Nov. 2 to 29, the area will prohibit public and private events of more than five people.

The development could further disrupt the WTO’s ability to confirm Okonjo-Iweala as the first African and first woman to lead the organization in its 25-year history.

A General Council meeting had been scheduled for Nov. 9 at the WTO’s headquarters in Geneva to break the deadlock triggered in the appointment of a new director-general after the United States opposed Okonjo-Iweala’s candidacy in the aftermath of her trouncing her only challenger, South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee, at the voting session.

On Oct. 28, Washington said it would oppose her bid because the United States preferred Yoo for the job.

Yoo has refused to withdraw from the race.

The U.S. unilaterally opposed Okonjo-Iweala despite the fact that the WTO selection committee determined she “clearly carried the largest support by members” and “clearly enjoyed broad support from members from all levels of development and from all geographic regions.”

The U.S. move has disrupted the leadership race because all WTO decisions are made by a consensus of its 164 members, which means a single country — in this case, the U.S. — can oppose a decision for any reason.

In a statement issued by the office of the U.S. trade representative, the world power said the WTO is in dire need of reform and must be “led by someone with real, hands-on experience in the field.”

“Minister Yoo is a bona fide trade expert who has distinguished herself during a 25-year career as a successful trade negotiator and trade policy maker. She has all the skills necessary to be an effective leader of the organization.

“This is a very difficult time for the WTO and international trade. There have been no multilateral tariff negotiations in 25 years, the dispute settlement system has gotten out of control, and too few members fulfill basic transparency obligations,” it said.

The WTO General Council Chair, Ambassador David Walker, said he submitted the name of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the candidate most likely to attract consensus and recommended her appointment by the General Council as the next director-general of the WTO until Aug. 31, 2024.

The General Council is the WTO’s pre-eminent decision-making body, save for the Ministerial Conference, which normally meets every two years.

Nevertheless, the WTO leadership race now hinges on the outcome of the U.S. presidential election.

Some trade officials said if Trump loses the election, the WTO’s selection process could wait until after Joe Biden is inaugurated.

Some trade delegates said they would find a more constructive partner in Biden whose advisers have advocated for greater engagement with U.S. allies and to strengthen multilateral institutions like the WTO.

But the WTO selection process may not move quickly even if Biden is elected. That’s because he won’t be inaugurated until Jan. 20, 2021, and crucial domestic priorities such as delivering a financial stimulus package and stopping the spread of COVID-19 will take priority over WTO matters.

Nigeria said it will lobby for its candidate to head the WTO.

“Nigeria will continue to engage relevant stakeholders to ensure that the lofty aspiration of her candidate to lead the World Trade Organization is realized,” the country’s foreign ministry said in a statement Oct. 29.

The ministry said the WTO’s 164 member states were expected to adopt Okonjo-Iweala as the organization’s director-general by consensus, but the United States was the sole country to oppose her, flouting the organization’s rules.

Okonjo-Iweala acknowledged Oct. 29 that her bid to head the WTO was facing some “hiccups,” but said she was staying positive.

A day after a World Trade Organization selection committee backed her as the best pick to become the next director-general, Okonjo-Iweala tweeted that she was “happy for the success and continued progress of our WTO DG bid.”

“Very humbled to be declared the candidate with the largest, broadest support among members,” she said.

On Oct. 28, the so-called troika of ambassadors heading the WTO’s three main branches determined after three rounds of consultations with member states that the 66-year-old former Nigerian finance and foreign minister was the most likely to obtain the consensus needed to take the top job.

The initial pool of eight candidates for the WTO’s top post had been whittled down to two over two previous rounds of consultations, with only Okonjo-Iweala and South Korea’s Yoo still in the race.

“We move on to the next step on Nov. 9, despite hiccups.” Okonjo-Iweala said in her tweet.

“We’re keeping the positivity going!”

There have been fears throughout the months-long process to find a replacement for Roberto Azevedo — who stepped down as WTO director-general in August, a year ahead of schedule — that the combative U.S. stance towards the organization could complicate things.

The global trade body has faced relentless attacks from Washington, which has crippled the WTO dispute settlement appeal system and threatened to leave the organization altogether.

But one Western trade diplomat said that the U.S. actions had caught some off guard.

It was highly unusual that a candidate’s decision to remain in the race was announced by a country other than her own, the trade diplomat said, suggesting that South Korea was facing U.S. pressure to stay in the race.

At the same time, the country was also facing anger from African countries and others for not bowing out.

“[South] Korea is stuck between a rock and a hard place,” the trade diplomat said.

The standoff cast doubt on whether the WTO would manage to obtain consensus around either of the remaining candidates, conceivably forcing it to start the process over again, the source added.

For her part, Okonjo-Iweala’s potential to rise to WTO’s director-general will be doubly historic as she will become both the first African and also the first woman to lead the organization. It will add to her career feats, which have included a 25-year spell at the World Bank as well two stints as first coordinating minister of economy and finance in Nigeria.

Okonjo-Iweala’s global resume has continued to rise since leaving public office in Nigeria in 2015 as a quick overview says: she has served as board chairperson at global vaccine alliance Gavi since 2016 and was also appointed to the board of social media giant, Twitter, in June 2018.

She is a global finance expert and an economist and international development professional with over 30 years of experience working in Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America.

She served twice as Nigeria’s finance minister, from 2003 to 2006 and from 2011 to 2015, and briefly foreign minister in 2006, the first woman to hold both positions.

She is renowned as the first female and black candidate to contest for the presidency of the World Bank Group in 2012, backed by Africa and major developing countries in the first truly contestable race for the world’s highest development finance post. As managing director of the World Bank, she had oversight responsibility for the World Bank’s US$81 billion operational portfolio in Africa, South Asia, Europe and Central Asia. She spearheaded several World Bank initiatives to assist low-income countries during the 2008-2009 food crisis and later during the financial crisis. In 2010, she was chair of the World Bank’s successful drive to raise US$49.3 billion in grants and low- interest credit for the poorest countries in the world.(SD-Agencies)

As minister of finance in Nigeria, she spearheaded negotiations with the Paris Club of Creditors that led to the wiping out of $30 billion of Nigeria’s debt, including the outright cancellation of US$18 billion.

She graduated magna cum laude with an A.B. in Economics from Harvard University in 1976, and earned a Ph.D. in Regional Economics and Development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1981. She has received honorary degrees from 15 universities worldwide.

(SD-Agencies)

(SD-Agencies)