He was responsible for the launching and subsequent coordination of the Uruguay Round Negotiations and is currently the director of the Trade and Services Division at the World Trade Organization.
International trade is a centuries-old activity.
The WTO is nothing but a series of legal agreements, freely negotiated by governments, in which they cede some part of their sovereignty over international trade. Of course, they retain their sovereignty in its entirety. Any government can, if it wants to, ban imports and exports totally as of tomorrow. No government does so, because the consequences for its own economy and people would be disastrous. But they still retain that freedom, and any member of the WTO could leave it tomorrow.