World trade is facing the worst crisis since 1947, free trade is currently threatened by a wave of protectionism. This was stated by the head of the World Trade Organization, Roberto Azevedo, who is now in Buenos Aires at the G20 summit of the world’s largest economies, in an interview with the BBC news server.
“I would say that this is the worst crisis not for World Trade Organizationbut for the whole multilateral trading system from the GATT, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade that preceded the organization, which was created in 1947. That’s when some of the basic principles of the organization were challenged and questioned, the principles of cooperation, the principle of non-discrimination and I think this very serious,” said Azevedo.
At the same time, he pointed to the trade dispute between the United States and China that will dominate the agenda for the Argentina summit.
The United States and the World Trade Organization (WTO) are now at odds over the Appellate Body, which governs disputes between countries and is a key element of the organization.
Washington recently blocked the appointment of new WTO judges to decide trade disputes, threatening the functioning of the WTO. Washington complains that WTO judges overstepped their authority and ruled unfairly in favor of China and some other countries at the expense of the US. If the situation is not resolved soon, WTO work will be paralyzed next year.
However, Azevedo said WTO member countries were negotiating a “Plan B” to prevent the appeals body from collapsing and allow it to continue operating. “Of course, the big question is whether the United States will be part of this plan. If not, I would say that a settlement of the dispute with the US will be jeopardized,” Azevedo said.
“Tv nerd. Passionate food specialist. Travel practitioner. Web guru. Hardcore zombieaholic. Unapologetic music fanatic.”
