Frenchman Pascal Lamy, formerly an EU commissioner, will get the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) head position. Lamy’s opponent, Carlos Perez del Castillo has withdrawn his candidacy.
Based on the fact that Lamy has much more WTO support, Castillo was advised by a special selection panel to drop out of the race. The WTO will not issue a formal decision until May 26, but the European Union has already confirmed that Lamy will get the position.
“I have already requested to withdraw my candidacy,” said Castillo. “I have tried to reach Mr. Lamy to congratulate him. We have a difficult task ahead, and right now above all it important to concentrate on finishing this round.” Castillo is Uruguay’s senior trade negotiator and is the former chairman of the WTO’s governing council.
Its certainly not going to be all fun and games for Mr. Lamy when he takes over the position, not that he probably expects it to be. As the Washington Post says,
Lamy has a particularly delicate tightrope walk to perform, some trade experts think. As director-general, he has little formal power beyond “moral suasion” in trying to forge consensus among the member nations. As an official who represented Europe’s position on the main issues — he stepped down as the E.U. trade commissioner in November after a five-year term — he may enjoy both advantages and disadvantages.
“Some of the developing countries wanted a developing-country representative [to become director-general] above all, but some obviously thought that given his background, Lamy would have to bend over backwards to show that he isn’t a protectionist Frenchman,” said Jeffrey J. Schott, a scholar at the Institute for International Economics. “I think that was a big plus; there was a perception that if selected, he would be a strong leader.”
Lamy was the European Union’s trade chief until last year, while Perez del Castillo is Uruguay’s former ambassador to the WTO and a former chairman of the trade body’s ruling general council.
It looks like Lamy will take the place of Supachai Panitchpakdi of Thailand, who steps down at the end of August. Lamy was the EU’s trade chief until last year. Castillo is Uruguay’s former ambassador to the WTO.
Chris is a staff writer for murdok. Visit murdok for the latest ebusiness news.
