Leaderless WTO needs to reform or risk losing further relevance

THESE are particularly troubled times for the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Geneva-based watchdog that is currently without a director-general and facing arguably its biggest crisis in its 25-year history.

Last week, Brazilian career diplomat Roberto Azevedo, who was at the helm of the governing body of international trade since 2013, stepped down from the post a full 12 months before his term was up. His departure for a job at PepsiCo - and with none of the four deputies able to step up as an interim chief, because of the United States' insistence that this person be an American - could not have come at a worse time.

The WTO - which was already in trouble even before the coronavirus pandemic struck at the start of the year - is slowly watching its global influence fade. There are ongoing international tensions and protectionism measures - exacerbated by Covid-19 and a worldwide economic downturn.