Beyond Brexit—UK candidate withdraws from WTO Director General selection process

Article summary

The UK Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organization (WTO), Julian Braithwaite, has made a statement regarding the withdrawal of Dr Liam Fox from the candidacy to be the next Director-General of the WTO. Braithwaite stated: ‘Following the recommendations of the Chair and his facilitators, the United Kingdom will withdraw the candidacy of Dr Liam Fox. We are extremely grateful for the confidence and support and time that Dr Fox received from the membership during his campaign and I’d like to thank all of you on his behalf and on behalf of the UK.’ Meanwhile, WTO General Council Chair, David Walker, announced that Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of Nigeria and Yoo Myung-hee of the Republic of Korea will advance to the final round of the Director-General selection process. The last phase of consultations will run between 19 and 27 October 2020.