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U.S. Throws WTO Director-General Selection Process Into Chaos, Possibly With an Eye on China

by Eric Olander
This combination of file pictures created on October 7, 2020, shows South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee (L) in Geneva on July 16, 2020; and Nigerian former Foreign and Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (R) in Geneva, July 15, 2020. Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP

The United States threw a wrench into the selection process for the World Trade Organization’s next Director-General when it moved on Wednesday to block the appointment of Nigerian-American Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to support its preferred candidate Yoo Myung-hee, South Korea’s trade minister.

Washington’s stated reason for backing Yoo over Okonjo-Iweala was that Yoo comes to the job with far more actual trade experience. 

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