Thread by @bbaschuk

What happens now that @YooMyunghee1 has withdrawn from the @wto leadership race?

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Thread 👇

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@YooMyunghee1 @wto First, here's what it does NOT mean.

@YooMyunghee1's withdrawal does not mean @NOIweala immediately becomes the @wto's next director general.

That appointment is taken in a formal decision by the WTO's 164 members.

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@YooMyunghee1 @wto @NOIweala Since the U.S. is the only @wto member blocking @NOIweala's candidacy the key question now is whether the Biden administration will reverse the Trump administration's veto and support @NOIweala

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@YooMyunghee1 @wto @NOIweala Absent opposition from any WTO members, the chairman of the WTO general council, David Walker, can announce the resumption of the @wto's suspended October general council meeting to consider the appointment of a new director general.

This could happen in a matter of days.

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@YooMyunghee1 @wto @NOIweala If and when @NOIweala is confirmed as director general it will clear the way for deliberation on a great many issues confronting the @WTO.

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@YooMyunghee1 @wto @NOIweala That includes internal @wto matters like the management of the secretariat and bigger things like:

-Scheduling the WTO's next ministerial meeting
-Trade negotiations involving curbs on fishery subsidies
-More structured conversation on @wto reform.

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@YooMyunghee1 @wto @NOIweala A word of caution.

The powers of the @wto director-general is limited and she answers to the demands of the WTO's 164 members.

That said, she has the power to convene meetings and discuss strategies for addressing the WTO's problems. This is important.

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@YooMyunghee1 @wto @NOIweala The @wto is largely dysfunctional and all three pillars of its work are under threat.

The WTO has struggled to produce meaningful multilateral trade agreements, its trade monitoring function is under-performing and Trump neutralized the WTO’s appellate body last year

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@YooMyunghee1 @wto @NOIweala Resolving the @WTO's appellate body impasse will be a critical task for the incoming director general because its paralysis has effectively sidelined the organization’s role as the global arbiter of trade.

(Former USTR Robert Lighthizer would disagree.)

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Trade officials in the U.S. and elsewhere do not expect solutions to these problems to arrive quickly.

However, the appointment of a new leader at the @wto will be a critical step towards having an earnest conversation about improving the international trading system.

/END