After South Korean Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Yoo Myung-hee withdrew from the race to take over as director-general of the WTO, former Nigerian minister of finance Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was elected, becoming the first African and the first female appointed to the post.
Everyone has expectations for her, and hopes that she will revitalize an international organization that is often challenged and avoid global trade from backsliding into the “law of the jungle” as member states act only in their own interests, rendering the WTO ineffective.
Since Okonjo-Iweala has served on the International Advisory Panel of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank founded by China, she is considered China-friendly by the US.
However, her African origin is a key advantage. With Africa’s smaller trade volumes, she is unlikely to be drawn into trade disputes, and might be able to maintain a neutral attitude in relation to various trade issues.
This is probably one of the reasons she was able to win majority support.
Interestingly, a report by the Central News Agency specifically said that Okonjo-Iweala has promised to treat Taiwan fairly.
Since the WTO’s major decisions are basically made by consensus, this promise was probably made in exchange for Taiwan’s support during her campaign, and Taiwanese should not expect it to be implemented.
Although Taiwan joined the WTO under the title “The Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu” in 2002, Taiwan’s rights and obligations are the same as those of other member states, so there is no need to worry about discrimination.
However, Okonjo-Iweala’s promise could mean that the WTO Secretariat might be able to restrain Beijing from playing its little tricks against Taiwan.
The biggest problem facing the WTO is the push for global trade liberalization, which has remained on hold since the “Doha Round” — the latest round of trade negotiations launched in 2001 — failed in 2008 and delayed a further push for trade liberalization.
Also, when the US and other powers contravene WTO regulations, the organization is unable to issue effective punishment. That being so, many member states have started to sign free-trade agreements among themselves to replace the WTO’s functions.
Faced with the return of trade protectionism, the WTO has not taken any effective action. A US boycott has paralyzed staff at the Appellate Body under the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body due to a dispute that remains unresolved.
If Okonjo-Iweala cannot quickly change the rules of the game to remedy these flaws and make the big powers play by the rules, the WTO could soon enter an era similar to the Spring-Autumn (春秋時代, 770-476 BC) and Warring States (戰國時代, 475-221 BC) periods in Chinese history, during which all states formed alliances under the rule of the Zhou Dynasty emperors who remained in power in name only.
For relatively small economies with less bargaining power such as Taiwan, whose only bargaining chip is its thriving semiconductor industry, the absence of fair trade order would be very bad.
However, Okonjo-Iweala said in an interview that her priorities are to pay close attention to COVAX — the global program aimed at procuring and shipping COVID-19 vaccines equitably around the world — and to accelerate global cooperation on development, production and fair obtainment of vaccines.
This is tantamount to stealing the spotlight from the WHO, and evokes more concern than hope as to whether she would be able to effectively handle the urgent tasks facing the WTO.
Tu Jenn-hwa is a distinguished professor in Huafan University’s Research Center for Humanistic Education.
Translated by Eddy Chang
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