Canada’s WTO envoy to oversee dispute settlements

The World Trade Organization has named its representative from Canada as the chair for its Dispute Settlement Body.

Jonathan Fried, Canada’s envoy to the WTO since last August, will chair the DSB for a one-year term, the global trade body’s general council announced Monday.

As DSB chair, Fried replaces Pakistan’s WTO ambassador Shahid Bashir, who was named Monday to chair the WTO general council.

Fried, who replaced John Gero as Canada’s WTO ambassador in Geneva, had previously served since 2008 as Canada’s ambassador to Japan.

His resume also includes stints as executive director for Canada, Ireland and the Caribbean at the International Monetary Fund (2006-08); senior foreign policy advisor to then-prime minister Paul Martin and head of the Privy Council Office’s Canada-U.S. Secretariat (2003-06); and senior assistant deputy minister for the federal finance department and Canada’s deputy to the G-7 (2000-03).

Fried, who joined Canada’s department of external affairs in 1980, also served as principal legal counsel for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) negotiations from 1991 to 1993.

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