The path has been cleared for Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to become the first woman and African after South Korea’s candidate pulled out of the race for the job. Yoo Myung-hee, the South Korean trade minister, announced her decision to withdraw in a televised briefing on Friday. Okonjo-Iweala, an economist and former finance minister of Nigeria, already enjoyed broad support from WTO members, including the European Union, China, Japan and Australia. However, the United States, under the Trump administration, had favored Yoo, complicating the decision-making process since the selection of a new leader requires all WTO members to agree. The Biden administration has since ended the deadlock over the next head of the World Trade Organization by expressing its “strong support” for Nigeria’s ex-finance minister.
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