When the new director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) moves into their office, by around November, they will inherit a tough job. The world’s multilateral trading system is under assault, shaken by Donald Trump’s isolationist policies and the coronavirus pandemic. Internally, the body’s traditional consensual decision-making – in which over 160 governments get together and hash out their differences on global commerce – is increasingly attacked for being ineffective and unsuited to the modern world.
But even before the new director-general begins work, the choice that has been made will itself send a message about the organisation’s direction.
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