Guatemala fires key official in charge of WTO reform talks

The Guatemalan government has fired Marco Molina, a highly-respected Geneva-based official who has been leading talks for the past year on reforming the World Trade Organization's dispute settlement system.

"I was fired," Molina confirmed in a phone interview. "Just today I was notified that I was removed from office. Well, you know, developing countries are quite complex, especially when you have unemployment. So [it was] totally unexpected. Many members are in shock. Yeah, that was not part of the plan"

The move further complicates ongoing efforts to reach a deal on dispute settlement issues. However, negotiators had already given up hope of reaching agreement by next week when the WTO hosts its 13th Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. A key remaining issue has to do with restoring the review functions previously performed by the Appellate Body, which the U.S. effectively killed in 2019 by blocking the appointment of new members to the panel.

Molina, a specialist in dispute settlement and Guatemala's deputy permanent representative at the WTO, said he was not given any reason for his removal. However, it comes less than two months after the new president, Bernardo Arévalo, took office on Jan. 15.

The former official said he is no longer employed by the Guatemalan government, but plans to stay in Geneva and look for work. He said he remained optimistic that countries can reach a final agreement on dispute settlement reform by the end of the year, but acknowledged that a deal was not possible in Abu Dhabi.

"It is important to note that we didn't reach an impasse. We were continuing to make progress, including on the essential question of the appeal review mechanism. But to be honest, we ran out of time," Molina said.