WTO: US Opposes Okonjo-Iweala’s Emergence as Director General

Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a candidate for the director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), is facing huge opposition from the United States.

This is even as the former minister of finance looks clear to coast home to victory after polling 104 out of a possible 164 votes.

Many African and European countries had thrown their public support for the former World Bank Director on the race to her emergence.

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According to reports by sources, the US does not consider Okonjo-Iweala committed enough to the interests of the world power, despite being an American citizen.

Bloomberg had earlier reported that the United States had their support thrown at Yoo Myung-hee, the South Korean Trade Minister.

Bloomberg’s WTO reporter, Bryce Baschuk tweeted that the US is opposed to Okonjo-Iweala’s emergence, saying the road forward remains “unclear”.

While the US has a larger voting power than other nations at the World Bank, the WTO is determined by the consensus of all member countries.

The conditions on the WTO website reads;

“The WTO is run by its member governments. All major decisions are made by the membership as a whole.

“In this respect, the WTO is different from some other international organizations such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

“Where consensus is not possible, the WTO agreement allows for voting — a vote being won with a majority of the votes cast and on the basis of ‘one country, one vote’.”