OECD steps up effort to subvert Supachai at WTO

Rohit Bansal

New Delhi, Dec 2: India will convey its strong reservations on any effort to undermine the authority of the incoming director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). A top ranking trade official told The Financial Express from Geneva that India will refuse to be a party to any move to give present director-general Mike Moore another position within the WTO. The official was reacting to strong suggestions that Mr Moore, whose term is ending on August 30 next year, was working hard to get a newly created job, as chairman of the trade negotiating committee (TNC).

The TNC, which is due to be constituted soon, will be responsible for crucial modalities of the WTO negotiating process. “Any eventual chairmanship of Mr Moore is seen as a sure sign that developed countries in the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) will hijack its working, with consequent implication on the interests of the rest of the world,” the official said.

Mr Moore, a former prime minister of New Zealand, and former deputy minister of Thailand Supachai Panitchpakdi, had fought a bitter battle in 1999 for the post of WTO D-G. A compromise solution allowed a split in the D-G’s six-year tenure, equally between both candidates. It was confirmed that Mr Moore has established contact with European trade commissioner Pascal Lamy and US trade representative Robert Zoellick for the position of head of TNC, and he has been assured of support, “given his experience in launching the New Round of trade negotiations”. The Indian negotiator, who spoke on strict conditions of anonymity, said the chairman of the WTO general council Stuart Harbison of Hong Kong, may be acceptable to India as head of TNC, but that too if he sends out sufficiently re-assuring messages on his neutrality. “If Mike (Moore) brooked no interference from (Peter) Sutherland and (Arthur) Dunkel, how can he expect Supachai (Panitchpakdi) to accept such an crazy situation,” the angry negotiator said.

Efforts by The Financial Express to seek any detailed response from Mr Panitchpakdi—he is on a stop-over speaking engagement at the WTO-CII summit—did not succeed. “All I would say is that as D-G I shall endeavour to do my best to keep the interests of each member country by my side, and that I am not signing up for a political position in the Democratic Party of Thailand,” he said cryptically.
When pushed further, he said, “Going back on my commitment now?
You must be kidding! Fine, I do realise that replacing Mr Chaun Leekpai (as head of the Democratic Party) might make me prime minister, but there is no truth in my interest in that position for the next three years. I am committed to being D-G of WTO”.

But what about other positions? “Well, you can include my non-availability for the secretary-generalship of the United Nations! There will be no curtailment in my tenure at the WTO,” Mr Panitchpakdi remarked, tongue firmly in cheek. Minutes later, he went on to preface his statement at the WEF-CII summit, by re-iterating his firm intention to be WTO D-G from September 1 next year. “I haven’t had the inside track in Qatar, as I went there only as a guest, but the road will not be lined with roses,” he observed.