<div style="max-width: 700px;">
 <video-js
 data-account="1571595826001"
 data-player="c0AOssA7"
 data-video-id="6191740161001"
 data-embed="default"
 controls=""
 data-application-id=""
 class="vjs-fluid"></video-js>
</div>
<script src="//players.brightcove.net/1571595826001/c0AOssA7_default/index.min.js">
</script> 
<amp-brightcove data-account="1571595826001" data-video-id="6191740161001" data-player-id="default" layout="responsive" width="16" height="9"> 
</amp-brightcove>
The selection date for the new Director-General of the WTO is getting nearer, eight candidates are going head-to-head for the top position with nominations coming from Mexico, Moldova, Korea, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and Africa – where we have 3 candidates. 58-year-old British Politician who has served as the UK’s Secretary of State for International Trade and was nominated by the United Kingdom for the role of the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation. Dr Liam Fox joins CNBC Africa’s Kenneth Igbomor to share his vision for global trade.

UK’s Liam Fox shares his vision for global trade

GENEVA/BRUSSELS (Reuters) &#8211; Eight candidates from Mexico to Moldova are bidding to become the next director-general of the World Trade Organization to replace Roberto Azevedo, who steps down at the end of August.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">CHALLENGES</h3>



The next chief would broker international trade talks in the face of widening U.S.-China conflict, protectionism increased by the COVID-19 pandemic and pressure to reform trade rules.



U.S. President Donald Trump’s “America First” policies have upended the global trading order and presented an existential threat to the WTO. Trump has called the institution “broken” and “horrible”. Washington has blocked appointments to the WTO’s Appellate Body that settles trade disputes, which now no longer has the minimum number of judges to convene.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="594" height="438" src="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/gettyimages-642093036-594x594-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-352573" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/gettyimages-642093036-594x594-1.jpg 594w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/gettyimages-642093036-594x594-1-300x221.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/gettyimages-642093036-594x594-1-80x60.jpg 80w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/gettyimages-642093036-594x594-1-570x420.jpg 570w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 594px) 100vw, 594px" /><figcaption>WASHINGTON, DC &#8211; FEBRUARY 16: U.S. President Donald Trump stands during a news conference announcing Alexander Acosta as the new Labor Secretary nominee in the East Room at the White House on February 16, 2017 in Washington, DC. The announcement comes a day after Andrew Puzder withdrew his nomination. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



HOW THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL IS CHOSEN



The candidates have been given two months to campaign until September 7. Normally this would involve trips to national capitals, but with the pandemic much of that is being done in a virtual format.



The next phase involves whittling down the field, initially to five then two, before a final decision is taken.



The WTO is a members-driven organisation with decisions reached by consensus among 164 countries. Three WTO ambassadors who chair leading committees will lead the process, seeking to establish which candidates have the widest support.



In so-called “confessionals”, members will tell this “troika” their preferences, without ranking them and without vetoes in a process expected to last two months. The first phase will be on Sept 7-16. Voting on the next director-general is seen only as a last resort if consensus cannot be reached.



The process does not always work smoothly. In 1999, former New Zealand prime minister Mike Moore and Thailand’s Supachai Panitchpakdi divided WTO members, with a compromise finally found to give each a term, shortened to three years from four.



Azevedo’s term will finish before his replacement takes office, but WTO members failed to agree on a temporary caretaker director-general, meaning the four deputies will stay on in their current roles.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">MORE SOFT THAN HARD POWER</h3>



The Marrakesh Agreement that established the WTO in 1995 does not give a detailed description of the director-general role. The responsibilities should be “exclusively international in character”.



The incoming chief would be expected to appoint four new deputies, present budget proposals, and chair the trade negotiations committee which oversees multilateral accords such as on fishing subsidies.



The director-general can also intervene in trade disputes, in very rare cases offering mediation, more often by appointing people to adjudicating panels when parties cannot agree.



Otherwise, the director-general does not forge global trade policy, but is meant to act as a neutral broker: part administrator, part peacemaker.

amina 2

Explainer: How the next WTO chief will be chosen and the task ahead

GENEVA/BRUSSELS (Reuters) &#8211; Eight candidates from Mexico to Moldova are bidding to become the next director-general of the World Trade Organization to replace Robert Azevedo, who steps down at the end of August.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">CHALLENGES</h3>



The next chief would broker international trade talks in the face of widening U.S.-China conflict, protectionism increased by the COVID-19 pandemic and pressure to reform trade rules.



U.S. President Donald Trump’s “America First” policies have upended the global trading order and presented an existential threat to the WTO, which the president has described as “broken” and “horrible”. Washington has blocked appointments to the WTO’s Appellate Body that settles trade disputes, which now no longer has the minimum number of judges to convene.



HOW THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL IS CHOSEN



The candidates have been given two months to campaign until September 7. Normally this would involve trips to national capitals, but with the COVID-19 pandemic much of that is being done in a virtual format.



The next phase involves whittling down the field, most likely first to five, then two before a final decision is taken.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="228" height="221" src="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Amina-Mohamed.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-376640"/></figure>



The WTO is a members-driven organisation with decisions reached by consensus among 164 countries. Three WTO ambassadors who chair leading committees will lead the process, seeking to establish which candidates have the widest support.



In so-called “confessionals”, members will tell this “troika” their preferences, without ranking them and without vetoes in a process expected to last two months. Voting on the next director-general is seen only as a last resort if consensus cannot be reached.



The process does not always work smoothly. In 1999, former New Zealand prime minister Mike Moore and Thailand’s Supachai Panitchpakdi divided WTO members, with a compromise finally found to give each a term, shortened to three years from four.



Because Azevedo’s term will finish before his replacement takes office, members must also agree on a temporary caretaker director-general from among four of his deputies.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">MORE SOFT THAN HARD POWER</h3>



The Marrakesh Agreement that established the WTO in 1995 does not give a detailed description of the director-general role. The responsibilities should be “exclusively international in character”.



The incoming chief would be expected to appoint four new deputies, present budget proposals, and chair the trade negotiations committee which oversees multilateral accords such as on fishing subsidies.



The director-general can also intervene in trade disputes, in very rare cases offering mediation, more often by appointing people to adjudicating panels when parties cannot agree.



Otherwise, the director-general does not forge global trade policy, but is meant to act as a neutral broker: part administrator, part peacemaker.

WTO.

GENEVA (Reuters) &#8211; Kenya’s candidate to the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) top post said on Monday she is seeking Washington’s backing and expressed some sympathy with its criticism of the global body as she emerges as one of two reform-minded African female frontrunners.



Amina Mohamed told Reuters a closed-door vetting session last week went “really well” as she outlined her platform to steer the body out of crises from global trade tensions and rising protectionism to a COVID-induced dive in business.



Delegates say Mohamed, a 58-year-old minister and former WTO chair, is one of the favourites alongside Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to replace Brazil’s Roberto Azevedo as director general, although weeks of campaigning lie ahead.



The WTO has never been led by a woman or an African.



“The rulebook needs to be upgraded because of the concerns that are being expressed about the rules not being fit for purpose,” she said, adding that resuming the top appeals court would be a priority and that she hoped this would be on the agenda of the next major WTO meeting in 2021.



The United States has paralysed the Appellate Body by blocking new judges.



In an apparent nod to Washington, she referred to concerns about the body’s “overreach”.



Asked if that meant she sympathised with the U.S. position, she said: “Those concerns that have been raised, they would not have been raised if they did not have solid reason to raise them.”



The U.S. mission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.



Mohamed’s supporters say she combines deep WTO knowledge with a drive to overhaul its 25-year-old rules. “The difference between me and them is I have worked this system,” she said.



However, she must win over those African countries who have expressed support for Okonjo-Iweala.



Over the past week, countries have been hosting Geneva cocktail parties to showcase candidates.



The WTO eliminates them in batches, starting with those unlikely to win consensus from 164 members.

Amina Mohamed

Vowing reform, Kenyan emerges as one of early WTO front runners

By Zinathi Gquma



“It’s not going to be easy, but I think it’s a challenge that can be met”, the words of Amina Mohamed, one of the three African candidates vying for the World Trade Organisation’s top job.



Talking to CNBC Africa’s Chris Bishop, Kenya’s Sports Cabinet Secretary promised reforms, as she acknowledged that the job will come with challenges. She was speaking from Geneva where she sat down for her interview for the post before scores of WTO delegates on July 16. The interview entailed a 15-minute presentation followed by a 75-minute grilling. 



Mohammed is considered a front runner among of six candidates in the race for the Director-General position at the WTO. The other five hopefuls are:Yoo Myung-hee from South Korea; Jesus Seade Kuri from Mexico; Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; Egypt’s Hamid Mamdouh; and Tudor Ulianovschi from Moldova.



The spotlight has been shone on Mohamed, because she could make history as the first African-born woman at the top seat of the body that deals with global rules of trade between nations.



Mohamed, a lawyer who has held key decision making positions in the WTO, could be second time lucky; she lost out on the job in 2013, to Brazil’s Roberto Azevêdo who will be stepping down at the end of August.



“I have worked the corridors of the body and&nbsp;I have a track record of delivery at the WTO”, said Mohamed to Bishop, as she was speaking on her extensive knowledge of the WTO’s work. In 2005, Mohammed was the Chairperson of the General Council, the&nbsp;highest-level decision-making body in Geneva.



Mohamed has acknowledged that the job of Director-General will not be a walk in the park, because the WTO was already troubled before the Covid-19 pandemic. Admitting that the next leader would have to walk a tight rope, as they deal with mammoth challenges within the organisation, she is willing to inject confidence into the system. She has expressed her commitment to tackle challenges and to move the organisation forward through recovery, reform, renewal and results.



With her knowledge of member states’ goals, she is promising to facilitate talks on reforms within the body. With the negative effects of climate change, Mohamed vowed to promote sustainability. Looking at benefits to the African continent, through her potential role as Director-General, she will encourage integration in the African region. She has also promised to use the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, as an engine for growth.



“I’m convinced that if I got the job, I would work energetically, but very sensitively and reasonably to make sure that members come together to address issues that are of concern to all members states. The issues that if resolved, will drive the global economy,” said Mohamed.

“It’s not going to be easy,” Amina Mohamed on fixing world trade at the WTO

<div style="max-width: 700px;">
 <video-js
 data-account="1571595826001"
 data-player="c0AOssA7"
 data-video-id="6172401984001"
 data-embed="default"
 controls=""
 data-application-id=""
 class="vjs-fluid"></video-js>
</div>
<script src="//players.brightcove.net/1571595826001/c0AOssA7_default/index.min.js">
</script>
Yesterday afternoon at least two of the African candidates for the top job at the World Trade Organization went in for their interviews before delegates at its headquarters in Geneva in Switzerland. Kenyan government minister Amina Mohamed and former Nigerian finance Ngozi Okonjo Iweala 15 minutes each to put forward their case for the job. Then each was grilled for 75 minutes by delegates about their vision for the future of world trade. John Stremlau, Honorary Professor of International Relations joins CNBC Africa for more.

What reforms are needed for the WTO?

<div style="max-width: 700px;">
 <video-js
 data-account="1571595826001"
 data-player="c0AOssA7"
 data-video-id="6172062693001"
 data-embed="default"
 controls=""
 data-application-id=""
 class="vjs-fluid"></video-js>
</div>
<script src="//players.brightcove.net/1571595826001/c0AOssA7_default/index.min.js">
</script>
At least two of the African candidates for the top job at the World Trade Organization will go for their interviews before delegates at its headquarters in Geneva in Switzerland today. Kenyan government minister Amina Mohamed and former Nigerian finance Ngozi Okonjo Iweala 15 minutes each to put forward their case for the job. Then each will be grilled for 75 minutes by delegates about their vision for the future of world trade. CNBC Africa&#8217;s Chris Bishop took a look at the background. International Relations Analyst, Brook Spector unpacks this further.

Here is what awaits the next WTO leader

NAIROBI/GENEVA (Reuters) &#8211; Kenya’s sports and culture minister Amina Mohamed will run to be the next Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), a spokesperson said on Wednesday and a WTO official confirmed.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="229" height="220" src="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/amina-2.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-375886"/></figure>



“For Amina Mohamed, yes we can confirm that we received her nomination from Kenya late yesterday,” a WTO official said.



The Geneva-based body is seeking a replacement for Brazil’s Roberto Azevedo who is stepping down a year early at the end of August at a critical juncture for the trade watchdog.



His successor will need to steer reforms and negotiations in the face of rising protectionism, a deep recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and growing trade tensions, notably between the United States and China.



Mohamed, a former Kenyan ambassador to the WTO and the first woman to chair the WTO’s General Council in 2005, is the sixth candidate to be officially nominated, alongside others from Egypt, Nigeria, South Korea, Mexico and Moldova.



Three of them are women. Nominations close later on Wednesday.



There is broad support for an African candidate and a woman, since neither have headed the Geneva-based body in the past, sources following the process said.

WTO

UK’s Liam Fox shares his vision for global trade

Explainer: How the next WTO chief will be chosen and the task ahead

Explainer: How the next WTO chief will be chosen and the task ahead

Vowing reform, Kenyan emerges as one of early WTO front runners

“It’s not going to be easy,” Amina Mohamed on fixing world trade at the WTO

What reforms are needed for the WTO?

Here is what awaits the next WTO leader

Kenyan sports minister Amina Mohamed to bid for top WTO job

News Tips

Advertise With Us

WTO

UK’s Liam Fox shares his vision for global trade

Explainer: How the next WTO chief will be chosen and the task ahead

Explainer: How the next WTO chief will be chosen and the task ahead

Vowing reform, Kenyan emerges as one of early WTO front runners

“It’s not going to be easy,” Amina Mohamed on fixing world trade at the WTO

What reforms are needed for the WTO?

Here is what awaits the next WTO leader

Kenyan sports minister Amina Mohamed to bid for top WTO job

News Tips

Advertise With Us

Newsletters