WTO boss announces resignation, one year before term ends

Text by: RFI Follow

As the economy goes through its most severe crisis in nearly a century, WTO boss Roberto Azevedo has announced that he will step down this summer, a year before the end of his term.

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“  The WTO is not perfect. But it is essential if we do not want world trade to be governed by the law of the jungle  ”. It is with these words that Roberto Azevedo, tried to relight the flame at the time of his departure. This will take effect at the end of August.

In Geneva, the Brazilian, head of the organization since 2013, explained to the heads of delegation to the WTO during a videoconference that his choice was a “  personal  ” and “  family  ” decision, saying he was convinced that "  It serves the best interests  " of the organization. "  I have no political plans  ," he said, while some credited him with presidential ambitions in 2022 against outgoing Brazilian head of state Jair Bolsonaro.

The announcement caught everyone off guard at the WTO. It comes at a time when the world economy is recording its most severe brake since the Great Depression of the 1930s, because of the pandemic of new coronavirus.

This premature departure also occurs when the organization can no longer weigh on the system it helped create, analyzes our correspondent in Geneva, Jérémie Lanche . On the one hand because the Member States prefer to conclude agreements between themselves rather than with its assistance. On the other hand, because the Trump administration has blocked the renewal of its appeals body, the one that adjudicates trade disputes, on the grounds that the WTO would play the game for Beijing.

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