WTO: DG appoints US academic as chief economist despite age rule (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
The World Trade Organization Director-General, Ms. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on 16 September appointed a 67-year-old academic from the United States as Chief Economist and Director of the WTO's Economic Research and Statistics Division (ERSD), allegedly in violation of the WTO's mandatory retirement age of 65.

WTO: DG's IFPRI-backed study on public stockholding sparks concerns (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
The Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) appears to have engaged the Washington-based non-governmental organization, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), to present a report titled "Market Price Support (MPS) Calculator in the Context of Public Stockholding Programs for Food Security" on 24 September 2025.

WTO: Partial "Fish 1" enters into force amid uncertainty over "Fish 2" (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
The World Trade Organization Director-General and several members on 15 September celebrated the entry into force of the partial Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, known informally as "Fish 1", which establishes disciplines on subsidies contributing to illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and subsidies regarding overfished stocks.