One of the two finalists for the director-general position at the World Trade Organization said Oct. 20 that when trade ministers gather for the next ministerial -- which may happen in June next year -- they should agree on a process for reforming the dispute settlement system. That suggests there will be no binding dispute resolution for at least two years at the WTO, if not longer.

A former U.S. ambassador to the European Union and the German envoy to the U.S. said a united front on China's trade distortions could make it more painful for that country to continue its current industrial policies. “With the rise of China and the relative decline of Western power it should be in our shared interest to use each other as an asset to leverage our power,” said Emily Haber, Germany's ambassador.

A former negotiator on the phase one China deal, Clete Willems, said his goal in publishing a report on how to reform the World Trade Organization is to move the conversation beyond how to restore the status quo in Geneva.

Hong Kong, which joined the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) long before China joined the World Trade Organization, is strongly objecting to the U.S. decision to change marking on Hong Kong-made products (see 2008240013) because of China's consolidation of control over the territory. “We have already written to request the US to withdraw such measure with immediate effect and invite the US for bilateral discussions with a view to resolving the matter in our mutual interests,” Hong Kong's ambassador told the WTO said in Geneva. They said the change would create difficulties in business communities in both countries.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of Nigeria and Yoo Myung-hee of the Republic of Korea are the two finalists for director-general at the World Trade Organization, the WTO announced Oct. 8. Both are women, so either would be the first woman to lead the organization. Okonjo-Iweala, a long-time development economist and former finance and foreign minister in Nigeria, has not been a trade negotiator (see 2007210040). Yoo is South Korea's trade minister, and was involved in the renegotiation of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement during the Trump administration.

Mexico's cabinet members in charge of implementing labor law changes and managing the USMCA more broadly said they are helping the private sector evaluate whether businesses could be a target of the rapid response mechanism, and they are working on the four-year process of democratizing labor unions in the country. Labor Secretary Luisa Maria Alcalde de Lujan said new laws include eliminating the former arbitration system, which was part of the executive branch, and creating a system of labor judges.

The long-awaited World Trade Organization decision on how much in tariffs the European Union can use to retaliate for Boeing subsidies has been sent to the parties, Reuters is reporting, and that amount is $4 billion worth of goods. Reuters said the EU is unlikely to impose tariffs before the U.S. election in November.

The U.S. and the United Kingdom completed a fourth round of free trade agreement negotiations last week and have moved into the “advanced stages” in most areas, the U.K.’s Department for International Trade said Sept. 22. The two sides “exchanged their first tariff offers” before the fourth round began, leading to “detailed market access discussions” during the round of negotiations. “Significant progress has been achieved since launching negotiations,” the agency said, calling the exchange of tariff offers a “notable milestone.” The U.K. said “the speed at which this stage has been reached demonstrates the momentum behind these negotiations.” The two sides plan to hold the fifth round of talks in mid- to late October, the U.K. said, again with discussions taking place before it begins. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative did not comment.

Trade ministers from the G-20 nations said they will continue to support reform of the World Trade Organization and restoration of a functioning dispute settlement system, and that they recognize how important it is that any trade measures related to COVID-19 are “targeted, proportionate, transparent [and] temporary,” and don't create unnecessary disruption to global supply chains. The statement was released Sept. 22, at the end of a virtual G-20 summit.

Liam Fox, from the United Kingdom; Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala from Nigeria; Yoo Myung-hee from Korea; Amina C. Mohamed from Kenya; and Mohammad Maziad Al-Tuwaijri from Saudi Arabia are the candidates still in the running for the director-general position at the World Trade Organization, after the first round of winnowing. The second round of winnowing will be done with member states from Sept. 24 to Oct. 6. The second round will narrow the list to two candidates. After this, the timeline for the third round, to select the one candidate by consensus, will be announced.