Okonjo-Iweala emerge only candidate for WTO’s top job

The World Trade Organization Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala will run for a second term unopposed, but she still faces a potential obstacle from the United States after Donald Trump’s reelection as president. 

The 30-day period for nominations closed on Friday with the incumbent, a former Nigerian finance minister and the first woman to hold the job, emerging as “the only candidate for the role,” Ambassador Petter Ølberg of Norway, chair of the WTO’s General Council, said in a statement on Saturday.

“At the end of the nomination period, the only candidacy received for this post is from Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the incumbent director-general.“

That means the WTO General Council could approve her bid for a second term at its next meeting, which is tentatively scheduled for December 16-17. But it remains possible that the United States or another member could object to her reappointment. 

Such an objection could require the WTO to take a rare vote to break the impasse.  

Clete Willems, who served as a White House trade official in the first Trump administration, criticized the WTO for trying to give Okonjo-Iweala a second term before Trump is sworn in for his second term on January 20. 

“I don’t know what the Biden administration will do, but I think what they should do is tell the WTO to go back to the original timeframe and not try to rush this in the shadow of a U.S. presidential election,” Willems said. 

Four years ago, Trump tried to block Iweala’s initial appointment in 2020 but lost that year’s presidential election to Joe Biden. 

The United States dropped its opposition to Okonjo-Iweala after Biden took office and the WTO approved the former Nigerian finance minister and former number two-ranking World Bank official as its director-general in February 2021. 

Neither Trump nor his campaign has explicitly said they oppose Okonjo-Iweala getting a second term. But Trump’s former U.S. trade representative, Robert Lighthizer, labeled her as “China’s ally in Geneva” in his 2023 book, “No Trade Is Free.” 

For its part, the Biden administration has expressed concern about the WTO’s accelerated process to give Okonjo-Iweala a second term. 

That was done at the request of African countries, who argued reappointing her early would help preparations for the WTO’s next ministerial conference in late 2025 or early 2026. However, that was widely seen as an attempt to avoid the possibility of Trump blocking her a second time if he won the U.S. presidential election.   

Iweala’s first term ends on August 31, 2025. Normally, the nomination process for the next WTO chief would begin nine months before then on December 1. Instead, Ølberg opened the nomination process on October 8, after consulting with members about the African Group’s request for an early start. 

If the United States or another member objects to Okonjo-Iweala serving a second term, Ølberg is expected to consult with members about what to do. 

One option would be to hold a vote since the rules governing the selection process allow for that possibility. However, no previous WTO director-general has been selected that way and most decisions at the WTO are made by consensus. 

“I think it was politically tone deaf [of the WTO] to create a novel, expedited process to try to front-run the U.S. election,” Willems said. 

(Credit/Daily Intel/Politico)