Exclusive! WTO DG: Okonjo-Iweala, Myung-hee’s Fierce Race Sparks Deadlock

With just about five days to the final decisive date of October 27, when the World Trade Organization (WTO)’s General Council, the overall organ responsible for picking its next DG , would finally determine the fate of Nigeria’s former Finance Minister, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and South Korea’s serving Trade Minister, Yoo Myung-hee, indications have emerged that influential global trading countries including the United States(US), the European Union(EU) nations, China, Japan and the BRICS countries are strongly divided on who should be the candidate to lead the WTO.

While the EU nations are said to be strongly supportive of Okonjo-Iweala, the United States, Japan and China think differently. This follows the decision of the EU parliament which on Wednesday met and mandated the EU nations to back Nigeria’s Okonjo-Iweala as she is best placed and has the best vision to lead the WTO at this point. However, the United States on the other hand is strongly supporting South Korea’s Yoo Mung-hee. It is not clear why the United States is backing Mung-hee as the The New Diplomat could not ascertain the exact reasons as at press time.

The influence of the United States on global trade is reportedly huge given that it single-handedly controls about 12% of global trade just as China holds about 12.4% of the global trade statistics. It is also not totally clear where China currently stands but some insiders in Geneva hint that the biggest economy in the world in terms of P3(Purchasing Power Parity) may have opted to support its East Asia sister country, South Korea’s Myung-hee.
Diplomatic sources hinted that East Asia countries including China, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macay, Mongolia and South Korea may have taken a political decision to align collectively in support of South Korea’s candidate, Mung-hee. Going by statistics, Japan, a US ally is another strong international player in global trade with an estimated $705.7 billion worth of goods globally in 2020.

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With a split or disagreement between the US and EU, a deadlock is not impossible at the end, going by current protocols and dynamics, said a diplomat in Geneva.
Said the diplomat: “ It is a tough race. There might be a deadlock … With EU’s decision to firmly support Nigeria’s Okonjo-Iweala and the US firmly supporting Mung-hee, there is a already a big split which could lead to a deadlock. These are very influential players in the game. EU has huge influence. US equally has huge influence. Traditionally, they always align and move in the same direction but on this matter, it is strange that both the US and the EU they are not together.”
The top diplomat explained further that China and Japan could however tilt the balance of play in the final analysis. The New Diplomat’s Europe’s outpost gathered that Japan has finally decided on Tuesday to back South Korea’s Myung-hee after what a senior diplomat described “ very rigorous and tortuous negotiations which went on for days.”
However, on Okonjo-Iweala’s side apart from the support of the EU are 55 AU nations as well as 24 solid ACP countries. Some of the ACP designated countries backing her include the 55 African Union countries such as Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, etc and the CP countries including Bahamas, Cuba, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Dominica Republic, Dominica, Greneda, Fiji, Cook Islands, Solomon Islands, Timor-Lester, Parpua New Guinea, etc. A combination of this preponderance form about 79 block countries that are solidly behind Nigeria’s Okonjo-Iweala.

However, another diplomatic source revealed that the BRICS states may also have a card up their sleeves. Together, the BRICS countries effectively control about 18% of the global trade, a development which makes them very influential players at the WTO.
The BRICS states may however not act as a group in this dynamics because they are equally split along regional bloc, said one diplomat in Geneva. The BRICS states are Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
A senior diplomat explained: “Can they really go as a bloc in this game? It is doubtful. Because they are also divided in this race along bloc interests. Take South Africa which is the chairman of the AU is fully backing Nigeria’s Okonjo-Iweala from the point of the view of the fact that AU has taken a decision to go in that direction. China, which is in the BRICS is believed to be backing Myung-hee because the East Asia bloc has decided to move as a bloc in that direction. So you cannot really tell that BRICS will move in one direction. No, it is not likely in this circumstance.”

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Africa’s global trade is about 3% making the continent not having the requisite commanding influence at the WTO. But should Nigeria’s Okonjo-Iweala sails through and emerges as the next DG of WTO, things might change positively for Africa.
According to another diplomat, “ the desire for Africa to change the narrative should be a guiding point for all Africans to back Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. As she has the credentials and capacity to lead the WTO at this point.”
The 25 year old WTO is set to have its first female leader after Nigeria’s Okonjo-Iweala and South Korea’s Myung-hee made it through to the final run-off which would be sealed on October 27, 2020 when Ambassador Walker’s and his team would determine who should be the next WTO DG.

Both Okonjo-Iweala and Myung-hee saw off competition from Britain’s Liam Fox, Kenya’s Amina Mohamed and Saudi Arabia’s Mohammad al-Tuwaijri in the second round of the battle to become the next director-general of the WTO.
The initial pool of eight candidates to replace Brazilian career diplomat Roberto Azevedo, who stepped down as WTO chief in August, was narrowed down to five in last month’s first round and then to three and currently to two.
Okonjo-Iweala, 66, served as Nigeria’s first female finance and foreign minister, and has a 25-year career behind her as a development economist at the World Bank, eventually becoming its number two. She is also on Twitter’s board of directors and is a special envoy for the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 fight. If she emerges triumphant from the final elimination round, she would not only be the first woman, but also the first African to lead the global trade body.

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Myung-hee, 53, on her part, is currently serving as South Korea’s first female trade minister, following a long career in trade, diplomacy, law and foreign affairs. She has previously served as South Korea’s foreign Affairs minister, among others. A lawyer and diplomat, Myung-hee holds degrees in Law, Public Policy and was called to the New York Bar.
Whoever is handed the top job in the end will be taking over an organization that has been mired in multiple crises, and struggling to help members navigate a severe global economic slump triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, some analysts maintained.