SMM5 15: it is reported that the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Azevedo (Roberto Azevedo), announced on the 14th that his term of office would end one year ahead of schedule on 31 August this year, saying that it was a "personal decision".

Azevedo, 62, has been director-general of the WTO since 2013 and was due to end at the end of August next year.

The unexpected departure of the WTO Director-General comes at a difficult time for the WTO. The World Trade Organization predicts that affected by the epidemic, global trade will shrink by 13% to 32% this year, which may exceed the level of the international financial crisis in 2008. The epidemic has led to a slowdown in global economic growth and further led to a decline in external demand, putting greater pressure on the foreign trade sector.

In accordance with WTO regulations, the selection process for the new Director-General of WTO must normally be initiated nine months before the end of the term of office of the current Director-General, and the final candidate must be finalized three months before the end of the term of office of the current Director-General. In the event of a vacancy in the post of Director-General, the WTO General Council shall designate a current Deputy Director-General to act as acting Director-General until a new Director-General is created.

As the United States continues to obstruct the selection of the WTO arbitration commission, the WTO arbitration commission is unable to select enough judges to decide the case, after the organization was paralyzed and cut off its ability to resolve international trade disputes, and the WTO is facing "the deepest crisis since its inception."

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