Roberto Azevedo reappointed Director-General of World Trade Organization

Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Roberto Azevedo was given the second mandate on Tuesday, February 28, 2017, and promised that he would continue with the organization’s successful operations despite the challenging times the global trade was facing.

Addressing the press following the official reappointment, Azevedo said that the WTO “is stronger today than it was in 2013”, when he was first appointed Director-General, AFP reports.

He reminded of the recent ratification and coming into effect of the Trade Facilitation Agreement, the first multilateral WTO agreement ever.

– Clearly, these are challenging times for the multilateral trading system. The threat of protectionism cannot be ignored – Azevedo stated.

He also tried to downplay the perspective of a possible economic conflict between the USA and China at the time when tensions between Washington and the EU are growing as well, AFP says.

– I think we should try not to talk ourselves into a trade war – Azevedo said.

World Trade Organization Geneva

World Trade Organization

WTO

Roberto Azevedo

Trade Facilitation Agreement

protectionism