WTO Decides to Retain Director-General Okonjo-Iweala, Who Clashed with Trump

Donald Trump, President-Elect of the US, and Past Conflicts

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (69), Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), was confirmed for a second term on the 29th (local time).

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

The WTO held a special meeting to elect the next Director-General and announced in a statement that "by consensus of the member countries, the reappointment of the current Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has been decided."

Born in Nigeria, Okonjo-Iweala became the first woman and the first African to lead the WTO in March 2021. Her official term began in August 2021.

On this day, as WTO member countries unanimously agreed on her as the sole candidate for the next Director-General, Okonjo-Iweala will continue her new four-year term starting from August next year.

Her reappointment had been a matter of international interest ahead of the Trump administration. This was because Okonjo-Iweala, who had taken a confrontational stance against then President-elect Donald Trump, was in the spotlight.

Previously, at the end of 2020, the only country opposing Okonjo-Iweala’s initial candidacy was the United States under the Trump administration. It was only after President Joe Biden took office in January the following year that Okonjo-Iweala could assume the position of Director-General. The WTO Director-General is appointed by unanimous consent of its 164 member countries, so if even one country opposes, election is difficult.

Inside and outside the WTO, it is speculated that if the Director-General election process had been delayed, Okonjo-Iweala’s reappointment might have been difficult. The second term of the Trump administration, which was expected to oppose her reappointment, begins in January next year.

Therefore, the decision to reappoint her on this day is analyzed as WTO member countries hastening to confirm the current Director-General’s term, considering the possibility of a prolonged vacancy in the leadership of the organization.

A WTO source told AFP, "Member countries agreed to the reappointment not because they 'love' the current Director-General, but because they found it difficult to accept a situation without a head of the organization."

The issue now is the conflict expected between the United States and the WTO after the start of the second Trump administration. Director-General Okonjo-Iweala has clearly expressed opposition to the trade policy plans of President-elect Trump.

Earlier, in 2019, the first Trump administration decided not to cooperate with the appointment process of panelists for the WTO dispute settlement appellate body, citing structural concerns about the appellate process. As a result, the WTO has suffered the side effect of the dispute appellate body being effectively non-functional.

In an interview with foreign media last April, Director-General Okonjo-Iweala criticized Trump’s campaign pledge of a universal tariff, saying, "It would trigger retaliation from trading partners and cause failure for both parties involved in the trade," and added, "I hope such a situation does not occur."