On September of this year, Roberto Carvalho de Azevêdo from Brazil will take the position held by Pascal Lamy of France as Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Azevêdo has served as the ambassador of his country to the WTO since 2008. The Brazilian trade diplomat is the first person from Latin America to serve as head of this body since its founding in 1995.
The appointment of 55-year old Roberto Azevêdo is a confirmation that Brazil is not just a significant player in Latin America but in the global scene as well. Azevêdo is the first diplomat from the BRICS group of nations to occupy such an important position.
The selection process
The head of the WTO is chosen by consensus. Azevêdo was intensely competing for the position with Mexico’s Herminio Blanco. Aside from the two there were seven other hopefuls who aspired for the position. Mr. Blanco and the Mexican government have extended their congratulations to the new WTO Director-General.
The selection process took half a year to complete. The 159 member nations of the WTO will get together on Wednesday and the official announcement would be released then. A session of the General Council still needs to give formal approval to Azevêdo’s appointment.
Official approval
The announcement of Azevêdo’s new appointment was made by the Brazilian government ahead of the official notice that was expected from the WTO on Wednesday. President Dilma Rousseff has sent congratulations stating that the appointment is a victory both for Brazil and the World Trade Organization. With Azevêdo leading the WTO a new world economic order is to be expected, said the President. The Foreign Minister of Brazil Antonio Patriota said that new heavyweights are now emerging and that the victory of Azevêdo is a confirmation that emerging economies are proving their capacity for leadership.
WTO mandate
The Word Trade Organization is based in Geneva, Switzerland. It replaced the GATT or the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade that was assigned to oversee rules of trade and commerce since 1948. The mandate of the WTO is to facilitate free trade and a fair flow of services and goods the world over. The GATT was only covering the trading of goods while the WTO is also dealing with issues and policies on the trade of designs, inventions and services. Similar to GATT, the WTO also hears trade disputes.
A busy year
On the 1st of September 2013, Pascal Lamy of France, who also once led the European Union, will step down. Mr. Lamy served two terms for four years each as WTO chief.
Now that Roberto Azevêdo will soon be at the helm of the WTO, one of the first items on his agenda as future Director-General Azevedo is to lead the upcoming biennial meeting of World Trade Organization in Bali, Indonesia this December. At this point in time, the WTO is working on a scaled-back agreement on trade liberalization. Azevêdo would need to revive the “Doha Round” of talks that was initiated in 2001 and is currently stalled.
Photo Credit: Roberto Azevedo
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