Liam Fox, Britain’s former international trade secretary, will be nominated by the UK to be the next head of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the government’s Department for International Trade has confirmed. Fox was a cabinet minister in Theresa May’s government between July 2016 and July 2019, and has been a Conservative MP since 1992. He is known as a prominent supporter of Brexit, and said in a 2017 interview that the UK’s free trade deal with the EU after leaving should be the “easiest in human history”.
The government described Fox as “the ideal candidate” to lead the WTO and listed his attributes including his advocacy for multilateralism, his “decades of experience in global politics, as well as first-hand experience of running a trade ministry” and his belief that global prosperity and security are underpinned by rules-based free trade.
However, Fox is expected to face a challenge garnering support for his nomination from other countries, especially from the EU, none of whose members have put forward a candidate. He was criticised during his time as international trade secretary for suggesting the UK would have up to 40 trade deals ready immediately after it leaves the EU. The UK has 20 such deals in place, according to the Department for International Trade’s website.
Boris Johnson, the UK prime minister, said Fox “has firsthand experience of the political and technical challenges of negotiating trade agreements, and the reforms that are needed to ensure the global trading system truly delivers for all WTO members”. Fox said he was honoured to be nominated and stated that the task for the organisation was to “update. Strengthen and reform” to remain relevant and vibrant. He added: “We must ensure that global trade works for everyone.” The SNP criticised Fox’s nomination for the WTO top job, accusing Johnson’s government of letting ideology trump competence.
The WTO is looking for a new director general, after the Brazilian Roberto Azevêdo announced in May that he was quitting a year before the end of his term. He is due to step down at the end of August. The 25-year-old WTO is designed to help negotiate multilateral trade deals, while also monitoring trade flows and helping to settle international trade disputes through its resolution body.
Source: The Guardian
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