Ashraf AboArafe
21 Sept 2020, CAIRO – The UK’s former International Trade Secretary Dr Liam Fox has made it through to the second round of the selection process for the next Director General (DG) of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Out of eight candidates, three withdrew yesterday as part of the elimination process, leaving Fox to compete against the remaining nominees from Kenya, Nigeria, South Korea and Saudi Arabia. The next round of voting will begin September 24, where the selection panel is expected to choose two candidates to compete in the final round before announcing a winner in November.
Fox, who has been nominated by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson for the post, said: “I want this DG election to be a real choice – we need the best qualified candidate for the job with the ability to deliver what the Membership is demanding. I believe I am that candidate.”
Dr Fox, a current Member of Parliament in the UK, is campaigning to restore the credibility of the WTO and its role at the heart of the rules-based trading system, to reform its Appellate Body, which is responsible for hearing WTO members’ appeals, and to deliver genuine gender equality by ensuring that at least half of his top team are women. In addition, he believes strongly in the need to work more closely with other international organizations.
Current challenges Dr Fox aims to address, particularly in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, include declining trade volumes, disagreements about the normative agenda, and a moving away from the principles of free trade which provided the basis for the establishment of the WTO. In his own words: “The WTO needs leadership at the top with an unswerving belief in the power of open markets to drive economic development and prosperity.”
