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EU’s Designated Trade Chief to Seek 2022 Deal on WTO Overhaul

EU’s Designated Trade Chief to Seek 2022 Deal on WTO Overhaul

(Bloomberg) --

Phil Hogan, designated to become the European Union’s next trade chief, set a 2022 target date for achieving a “comprehensive” accord on revamping global commercial rules as the bloc seeks to anchor the U.S. and China in the multilateral order.

Hogan said he would begin next year a push to overhaul the World Trade Organization by ensuring it gains sufficient clout to tackle industrial subsidies, forced technology transfers and electronic commerce.

Due to succeed Cecilia Malmstrom as European trade commissioner on Nov. 1, he also said the initiative would aim for changes to the WTO’s dispute-settlement system.

“My objective will be to launch a broad initiative by the end of 2020, following the next WTO ministerial conference, with a view of reaching a comprehensive agreement by 2022,” Hogan said in written remarks to the European Parliament’s trade committee, which is scheduled to hold a confirmation hearing with him on Sept. 30 in Brussels. The written comments were seen by Bloomberg on Friday.

The EU wants to bolster the Geneva-based WTO -- and U.S. support for the organization -- by giving it the ability to confront controversial practices in China including industrial subsidies and forced technology transfers. At the same time, the bloc is trying to ensure the future of a WTO dispute-settlement system that is being threatened by the U.S.

Hogan, who comes from Ireland, is currently EU agriculture commissioner and has worked with Malmstrom of Sweden in recent years on international farm-trade matters.

On the day earlier this month when European Commission President-elect Ursula von der Leyen assigned Hogan the EU trade portfolio, he described U.S. President Donald Trump as “reckless”.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan Stearns in Brussels at jstearns2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Sills at bsills@bloomberg.net, Zoe Schneeweiss, Nikos Chrysoloras

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