WTO Confirms Okonjo-Iweala as Director-General

Mar. 1, 2021

On February 15, 2021, the World Trade Organization (WTO) confirmed Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as its next Director-General. Dr. Okonjo-Iweala, of Nigeria, makes history as the first woman and first African to be appointed to this position.

Following the early resignation of the WTO’s previous Director-General, Roberto Azevêdo of Brazil, the WTO began its 9-month selection process led by General Council Chair David Walker of New Zealand, and co-facilitators Ambassador Dacio Castillo of Honduras and Ambassador Harald Aspelund of Iceland. The confirmation follows President Biden’s withdrawal of the United States’ refusal to join WTO member consensus in support of Dr. Okonjo-Iweala’s appointment. The United States Trade Representative issued a statement on February 5, 2021 offering “strong support” for Dr. Okonjo-Iweala’s candidacy.

Dr. Okonjo-Iweala officially takes office on March 1, 2021 and is entering a 4-year term which will expire on August 31, 2025. In a statement to the WTO General Council, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala expressed her gratitude and outlined her primary objectives. As her top priority, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala aims to work through the obstacles COVID-19 has presented by quickly addressing the economic and health consequences we are currently facing. She asserted that the “WTO can and must play a more forceful role in exercising its monitoring function and encouraging Members to minimize or remove export restrictions and prohibitions that hinder supply chains for medical goods and equipment.” Dr. Okonojo-Iweala also indicated her intent to work with Colombian Ambassador Santiago Wills to progress fisheries subsidiaries negotiations; e-commerce, investment facilitation, and domestic regulation of services; and to establish a framework addressing WTO dispute settlement reform.

The United States has offered its congratulations to Dr. Okonojo-Iweala. David Bisbee, on behalf of Chargé d’affaires of the U.S. Mission to the WTO delegation in Geneva, stated that the “United States is eager to work with Dr. Okonjo-Iweala to ensure [the WTO] lives up to its full potential as a body that promotes equitable economic growth through trade, and supports [the United States’] common efforts to meet current and future global challenges.”

If you have any questions or would like more information about the WTO or its processes, contact an attorney at Barnes, Richardson & Colburn LLP.