he hated meghan. in a statement, harry and meghan said the tv presenter s comments were not an isolated incident. now on bbc news, it s time for hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk, from geneva. i m stephen sackur. this place is home to the world trade organization, the institution whose purpose is to maximise free and fair international trade, on the assumption that globalisation is good. so what happens when many governments and people around the world question that premise? well, my guest today is the director general of the wto, ngozi okonjo iweala. will rising geopolitical tensions lead to the weaponisation of trade? ngozi okonjo iweala, welcome to hardtalk. thank you, stephen. now, you are one of the world s key advocates of ever freer trade, more globalisation. what s it like to be doing your job when the political tide across the world is running against you? the wto s purpose, the world trade organization, is. its purpose is to enhance living standards, to help create em
that the wto or the dispute settlement system is not functioning. i beg to differ. what it shows is that perhaps the most powerful economy in the world now feels free to entirely ignore what comes out of the wto. i m going to quote there the us chief trade negotiator, katherine tai. when she heard of the decision from you, from the wto, she said, this body is unelected, not accountable. they have no right to second guess america s national security judgment. she said the wto, quote, is walking on very thin ice. the united states is the biggest user of the wto s dispute settlement system. they have brought the largest number of cases, 124, since the system was put in place. and they ve been pleased with the rulings they got from many of them. they also have the largest number of cases brought against them, 157. so, if the place is not given some satisfaction, why are members still using it?