The U.S. State Department directed some of its local embassy officials in a diplomatic cable to gauge whether their host country supports selecting South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee to be the next director general of the World Trade Organization, POLITICO has learned.
The missive, which was sent on Sunday, is the clearest sign yet that the United States supports Yoo in the race. However, it’s far from certain that U.S. support for Yoo would be enough to determine the outcome of the contest, which could be decided as early as this week.
A WTO Heads of Delegation meeting is scheduled on Wednesday to discuss the race. That could lead to Yoo dropping out if her rival, former Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has more support.
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