Re: Frenchman Set to Assume WTO Leadership

IRW2B,
you come on and complain about off-topic posts...
and then you INTENTIONALLY CLOG the board with OT posts?!?
What is your trip?

AN

<ireallywant2believe@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/13/AR2005051301529.html

Frenchman Set to Assume WTO Leadership

By Paul Blustein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, May 14, 2005; E01



Pascal Lamy, who until recently was the European Union's chief trade
negotiator, was set to become director-general of the World Trade
Organization after his last remaining rival withdrew from the race
yesterday.

WTO officials announced that based on several months of consultations,
Lamy, a 58-year-old Frenchman, is the candidate "most likely . . . to
attract consensus" among the 148 member countries. The defeated
candidates all came from developing countries -- Uruguay, Mauritius and
Brazil. Barring some unforeseen revolt before the WTO general council's
formal decision in two weeks, Lamy's four-year term will begin Sept. 1.

The choice capped a relatively smooth selection process that removes
one impediment to global trade negotiations, known as the Doha round,
aimed at lowering barriers to international commerce and reducing farm
subsidies. The last time the WTO chose a new chief, acrimony between
advanced and developing countries was so fierce that the job had to be
split between New Zealand's Mike Moore and Thailand's Supachai
Panitchpakdi, with each taking abbreviated, three-year terms. That
episode was blamed for helping to sour North-South relations and
hindering progress on trade talks.

But Lamy still faces an enormous challenge in mobilizing the
consensus-oriented WTO to complete the Doha round and ensuring that the
negotiations produce major results. As head of the Geneva-based body,
which sets the rules for trade among its members and mediates their
disputes, he would also act as one of the chief advocates for economic
globalization, a daunting task in itself. But his success or failure
will almost certainly hinge on how he handles the Doha talks.

The round, launched in the capital of Qatar a couple of months after
the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, is supposed to provide
especially significant benefits for developing countries, who were
aggrieved that previous rounds tended to favor the interests of
American and European companies. One demand of many developing
countries is the elimination of, or at least a sharp cutback in,
agricultural subsidies that often spur overproduction and depress
prices for crops. Those demands are hotly resisted by powerful
agricultural interests in rich countries, particularly in Lamy's native
France.

Negotiators already have blown the round's original deadline of Jan. 1,
and any director-general would face difficulties in getting the talks
on track in time for a key meeting of trade ministers in Hong Kong in
December, aimed at narrowing differences. One such gathering -- in
Cancun, Mexico, in 2003 -- collapsed in failure.

Lamy has a particularly delicate tightrope walk to perform, some trade
experts think. As director-general, he has little formal power beyond
"moral suasion" in trying to forge consensus among the member nations.
As an official who represented Europe's position on the main issues --
he stepped down as the E.U. trade commissioner in November after a
five-year term -- he may enjoy both advantages and disadvantages.

"Some of the developing countries wanted a developing-country
representative [to become director-general] above all, but some
obviously thought that given his background, Lamy would have to bend
over backwards to show that he isn't a protectionist Frenchman," said
Jeffrey J. Schott, a scholar at the Institute for International
Economics. "I think that was a big plus; there was a perception that if
selected, he would be a strong leader."

But Daniel K. Tarullo, who served as the top international economic
adviser for the White House during the Clinton administration, wondered
how easily Lamy could deal with perceived conflicts between his
previous positions and the more neutral ones he must take as
director-general.

"How is he going to handle all these issues that just a few months ago
he was an advocate on?" Tarullo asked, citing as examples the dispute
between Washington and Brussels over subsidies for Boeing Co. and
Airbus SAS. "I think he's best suited for the job, given his
intelligence and knowledge of the issues. . . . But think what would
have happened if he had been a lawyer in Washington for a company that
had been involved in all these issues, then went in as U.S. trade
representative. He can't recuse himself from everything the E.U. has an
interest in. Is there some sort of understanding as to what he can do?"

Lamy was unavailable for comment, and a spokesman for U.S. Trade
Representative Rob Portman also said he could not comment on that
issue. But Portman issued a statement hailing Lamy's selection, saying:
"As the former EU Trade Commissioner, he knows intimately the terrain
of the negotiations. I believe he'll rise to the challenge of serving
as the neutral leader" and pursuing the ambitious goals of the ongoing
Doha trade round.

Lamy's selection became a foregone conclusion when Carlos Perez del
Castillo, a Uruguayan diplomat, acknowledged yesterday that the
Frenchman had stronger backing. Previously, Luiz Felipe de Seixas de
Correa of Brazil and Jaya Krishna Cuttaree of Mauritius had pulled out
of the contest after failing to muster enough support.

© 2005 The Washington Post Company


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