By Dr Jong-Dae Park, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to South Africa
The World Trade Organization (WTO), which was established in 1995 to replace the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, is now at a crossroads to seriously contemplate in which direction it should go.
The WTO has provided an open, transparent, fair and rules-based multilateral trading system, serving as a forum for trade negotiations and providing a mechanism to settle trade disputes.
We should be grateful for what the WTO has achieved during the past 25 years. In particular, the Republic of Korea (South Korea) is one of the major beneficiaries of the WTO’s trading system that has enabled our country to achieve remarkable growth, from being one of the world’s poorest countries recovering from the ruins of the Korean War to becoming one of the world’s largest trading nations.
However, there is no question that the WTO is facing great challenges during this time of the Covid-19 pandemic and a crisis of confidence in the multilateral systems, which had been in effect even before the pandemic struck the world.
The global crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic is challenging the WTO’s purpose of ensuring the smooth flow of goods and services from the point of origin to the point of consumption.
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) originally due to commence on 1 July 2020 has also been delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In recent years we have all witnessed the rising trade tensions, trade conflicts among the large players, and the growth in protectionism. The most immediate flashpoint is addressing the shortcomings of the dispute settlement system.
Rapid technological advances are transforming the ways in which we trade, bringing us e-commerce and digital trade, in a way that we never imagined when the WTO was established. It seems as if the WTO is falling apart with these challenges.
At a crossroads, in which direction should the WTO go from here? The first thing the WTO has to do is to elect a new Director-General for the organisation to minimize the chances of a leadership vacuum. Then who should be elected for that position?
I think the new Director-General should go back to the basic principles upon which the WTO was established. Among others, these are free and open trade and fair competition through a multilateral framework of disciplines.
Furthermore, the new Director-General should also be able to reform the WTO to provide fair opportunities to all Members regardless of their levels of development, whether they are developing countries or developed countries.
In light of these aspects, the South Korean government has nominated its Minister for Trade, Yoo Myung-Hee as a candidate for the next Director-General of the WTO.
H.E. Yoo is the first female Trade Minister of the Republic of Korea. She has been an innovator, negotiator, strategist and pioneer during her 25-year career in trade. She has devoted her career to making progress in the multilateral trade arena.
From the early days in 1995 when she took charge of WTO affairs at the South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, through her role as Korea’s key FTA strategist to, more recently, as negotiator of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the Korea-China FTA and the critical Korea-U.S. (KORUS) FTA renegotiation, among other trade initiatives.
Minister Yoo’s belief in the importance of the multilateral system and its constant renewal derives from South Korea’s position as a major beneficiary of the open trading system represented by the GATT and WTO. Her life in South Korea has been defined by South Korea’s increasing prosperity and growth within the multilateral trading world. She personally knows that development can happen within this framework and has first-hand experience in how to effectuate mutually beneficial change and development.
She firmly believes that South Korea can become a bridge, connecting developing countries and developed countries, playing a role as a “middle-economy country” and as a “mediator.” Her vision is to rebuild trust in the multilateral trading system by making it more relevant, resilient, and responsive, the 3Rs.
Firstly, relevance: The WTO needs to be more relevant in light of the changing economic realities. Two key priorities are to restore the dispute settlement system and to revitalize the negotiating function.
Secondly, resilience: A fundamental objective of the WTO must be to promote sustainability and inclusiveness, especially with an emphasis on development, to remain resilient as a champion of open trade.
And lastly, the responsiveness: The WTO needs to be more responsive to global challenges and contingencies for the benefit of all its Members.
It is expected that Minister Yoo will bring the vast experience and expertise of her 25-year career in trade to act as an effective, trusted and informed facilitator to rebuild trust in the WTO and the multilateral trading system.
In order to enable continued rules-based free trade, the dispute settlement mechanism of the WTO – including the Appellate Body, which the South African government is also very concerned about – needs to be fixed urgently.
It is time to rebuild trust in the multilateral trading systems which developing countries in Africa, including South Africa, can greatly benefit from. The Republic of Korea is convinced that Minister Yoo Myung-Hee possesses the right leadership qualities, experience and knowledge to lead the WTO during these very challenging times.
* Press release issued by: Embassy of the Republic of Korea to South Africa, 265 Melk Street, Nieuw Muckleneuk Pretoria, South Africa