Captainless WTO sees no land in sight

Besieged trade body cast adrift as global rifts torpedo process to pick new chief

GENEVA－As Roberto Azevedo left the World Trade Organization on Monday, the institution is facing multiple crises without a captain－a situation experts warn could drag on for months.

Any future WTO leader will head an organization mired in stalled trade talks and struggling to curb trade tensions between the United States and China.

It must also help member states navigate a devastating global economic slump sparked by the coronavirus pandemic.