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WORLD NEWS Friday 15 May 2020
Head of World Trade Organization to step down early

JAMEY KEATEN have been a punishing
GENEVA (AP) — The head blow to the "rules-based in-
of the World Trade Orga- ternational trading system"
nization said Thursday that that Azevedo has long de-
he will leave his post a year fended. And the "America
early, a "personal decision" First" mindset in the United
that sets the stage for a States — long the most
succession contest at the powerful WTO player — put
trade body amid linger- him often on the defensive.
ing U.S.-China tensions and "I believe that I have been
a coronavirus pandemic able to contribute to main-
that has doused the global taining the WTO as a key
economy. pillar of global economic
Roberto Azevedo, a governance amid chal-
62-year-old Brazilian, said lenging times for multilat-
he will step down Aug. 31 eral cooperation," he said.
as WTO director-general, The WTO nonetheless has
ending a seven-year ten- intervened in some of the
ure marked in recent years world's thorniest trade dis-
by intense pressure from putes, handing down re-
President Donald Trump, cord rulings recently in
who repeatedly accused standoffs like one pitting
the Geneva-based trade plane makers Airbus and
body of "unfair" treatment In this Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019 file photo, Roberto Azevedo, Director General of the World Trade Boeing that ultimately gave
of the United States and Organization, WTO, attends a session at annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, the U.S. the go-ahead to
launched a trade war with Switzerland. Associated Press slap tariffs on billions of
China in defiance of the dollars worth of European
WTO system. Azevedo's WTO often step down. hand," Lighthizer said in a goods in compensation.
"This is a decision that I do found itself in the firing line "The World Trade Organiza- statement. "He will be diffi- Azevedo claimed success
not take lightly," Azevedo of the Trump administra- tion is horrible," Trump said. cult to replace." on issues like a Trade Facili-
told a special meeting of tion, which has accused it "We've been treated very Azevedo's tenure has been tation Agreement aimed
WTO delegations. "It is a of letting China get away badly. I've been saying it marred by the U.S. squeeze to cut through red tape
personal decision - a fam- with unfair state subsidies for a long time. They treat on the WTO's Appellate and bureaucratic delays in
ily decision – and I am con- and for allegedly strong- China as a developing na- Body — a sort of appeals trade, and expanding ex-
vinced that this decision arming foreign businesses tion, therefore China gets a court that issues final rulings port of goods and services
serves the best interests of into giving up their intel- lot of the benefits that the on international trade dis- from developing countries.
this organization." lectual property in order U.S. doesn't get." putes. The U.S. has blocked But on his watch, the WTO
The 25-year-old trade body to gain access to the giant U.S. Trade Representative the appointment of new failed to conclude Doha
has never had to fill a va- Chinese market. Robert Lighthizer thanked judges, complaining that round trade talks and has
cancy for the director-gen- Speaking to reporters Thurs- Azevedo for his "exempla- the WTO is slow, cumber- been sclerotic when it
eral post before that term day at the White House ry" service. some and ill-equipped to comes to reform for the 21st
expired, and under WTO before travelling to Penn- "Despite the many short- deal with challenges posed century economy —— a
rules, a selection process sylvania, Trump said he was comings of the WTO, Ro- by China's hybrid capitalist- legacy in part of its require-
for a successor is to begin "okay with it" when asked berto has led the institution socialist system. ment for unanimity among
as soon as possible. about Azevedo's plans to with grace and a steady The Appellate Body's woes members. q

EU: Possible virus drug approval ‘before the summer’

By MARIA CHENG cover from the coronavi- ate Joseph Stiglitz issued
AP Medical Writer rus faster, although longer- an appeal Thursday call-
LONDON (AP) — The Euro- term data is still needed to ing on all countries to unite
pean Medicines Agency confirm any benefit. behind a "people's vac-
predicted that there could Although it typically takes cine" against COVID-19, to
be licensed drugs to treat years to develop a vac- ensure any effective treat-
the new coronavirus in the cine, Cavaleri said that if ments and vaccines be
next few months and that some of the shots already available globally to any-
a vaccine might even be being tested prove to be one who needs them, for
approved in early 2021, in effective, they could be li- free.
a "best-case scenario." censed as early as the be- At the moment, there are
Dr. Marco Cavaleri, who ginning of next year. about a dozen vaccine
heads the European regu- Cavaleri cautioned, how- candidates being tested
lator's vaccines depart- ever, that many experi- in China, Britain, Germa-
ment, told a media briefing mental vaccines never ny and the U.S. The World
on Thursday that approv- make it to the end and that Health Organization has In this March 16, 2020 file photo, a patient receives a shot in
ing medicines to treat CO- there are often delays. estimated it could take the first-stage safety study clinical trial of a potential vaccine
VID-19 might be possible More than 140 heads of about 12 to 18 months for for COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, at
"before the summer," cit- states and health experts, an effective vaccine to be the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in
ing ongoing clinical trials. including South African found. Seattle.
Recent early results for the President Cyril Ramaphosa, While some experts have Associated Press
drug remdesivir suggested Pakistani Prime Minister Im- proposed dropping the re- advanced clinical trials al- wasn't currently being con-
it could help patients re- ran Khan and Nobel laure- quirement for large-scale together, Cavaleri said that sidered. q