Although Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria's candidate for director-general of the World Trade Organization, had more support from member countries, her rival, Korea's Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee, was not withdrawn from the contest on Oct. 28, and there is no consensus on who the next woman to lead the organization will be. Retired trade attorney Terry Stewart blogged on the Washington International Trade Association website about why that might be and what's next. He said that given press reports, it looked like Okonjo-Iweala, who spent most of her career as an economist at the World Bank, had support from more than 100 of the WTO's 164 member countries. Discussions will continue with the U.S. and Korea to see if they will support Okonjo-Iweala, he said. The deadline for the consensus-based decision-making is Nov. 7. If no result is achieved, there can be a vote in Geneva, and the candidate with the most support can win without unanimity.

The World Trade Organization told member countries this week that the U.S. has filed an appeal on a panel report on the legality of its Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports. Because there is no appellate body, there is no way to appeal a case, but China cannot take action under WTO rules while the appeal is pending. In practical terms, however, China already retaliated years ago for the Section 301 tariffs.

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.