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Newly-selected WTO chief warns of losing multilateral trading system

09 May 2013 00:33 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The newly-chosen Director General (DG) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Roberto Carvalho de Azevedo said Wednesday that the organization is in a "very critical stage" and members have to broaden the trade agenda and keep the organization updated, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

There are a large number of trade-related areas and issues that need to be evaluated and discussed, Azevedo told a press conference after the WTO formerly announced him as a recommendation for the next DG.

However, the negotiations are avoiding the disciplines from being updated and closing the gap between the roles of the organization and the real world where businesses operate, he said.

"That is extremely worrisome," he said.

"We are on the verge of losing a very valuable system," he warned.

He told Xinhua that he does not think members can start to look at new issues without having a conversation first about what should be the focus and priorities of the organization and how they want to approach each issue in particular, which has not happened over the last four or five years.

He said it will depend on how members feel about them.

"If we have the negotiations moving again, if we are having a good sense that we are going in the right direction as far as the negotiations are concerned, it will make things easier to have this conversation about these 'modern issues,'" he said.

He said the way to tackle it is to "ensure the negotiations to move and move as soon as we can."

The Doha Development Round negotiations will still be his first priority, Azevedo said, and he believes that the coming Bali ministerial meeting in December will be a chance for members to take a first step towards "rescuing the system."

He said that throughout the selection process, which will officially end on May 14 when the WTO General Council will approve his appointment in a formal meeting, members have expressed that they were willing to work with the next DG to find a solution to make the system functional again.

"By September, when we have the transition from current DG to the next one, we will have an organization which is united. I don't believe in more south-north divides," he said.

"This is just the beginning of the road. It's a very long road ahead of us," said Azevedo.

The 55-year-old diplomat has worked directly on economic issues for more than twenty years. He had overseen the dispute settlements affairs in Brazil, acting as head of delegation in several WTO cases. He also participated in the Doha round negotiations as head of the Brazilian Delegation from 2005 to 2006.

He has been the Brazilian ambassador to WTO since 2008.

Though with extensive knowledge of the organization and well-known for his consensus-building ability, Azevedo will face a tough challenge to break the deadlock of the Doha Development Round negotiations.

He told Xinhua in an exclusive interview on May 4 that he knew where the problems were for the negotiations and would start at the problems if he could win the race.

The three market access areas, including industrial goods, agriculture and services, are where problems are located, he said.

An unprecedented nine candidates ran this time in a nearly half-a-year process. Four candidates were eliminated after the first round and three more after the second.

Azevedo advanced into the final round with former Mexican minister for trade and industry Herminio Blanco Mendoza, backed up by major developed members, including the United States and the European Union.