The negotiations of the WTO can be inspired by the director-general, but the decisions have to be taken by members. The change of director-general won’t immediately change the situation. Maybe Azevedo is more convincing in certain capitals than (his predecessor) Pascal Lamy was, but he of course has a very broad perspective of the needs of emerging countries. This will be his biggest challenge: to do his job objectively and convince those emerging markets and industrialised countries to be more flexible on certain issues. As soon as you look into the technicalities, it’s no longer a North-South issue, but a trans-Atlantic issue. The EU has their system for standards, the … Continue reading Luzius Wasescha