OECD invitation letter is very preliminary progress, says Rubens Barbosa

The letter of invitation from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for the start of negotiations on Brazil’s accession to the entity is a “preliminary advance”, said this Tuesday (25) theCNN specialist Rubens Barbosa.

“The letter informs that the council decided to accept the request of Brazil and six other countries to join the OECD. Now, there will be a whole process, a negotiation, defined by the OECD – and Brazil will have to adhere to the principles, visions, regulations of the organization”, explained Barbosa, specialist in International Relations and former ambassador to the USA.

“Brazil is already part of the center and so many committees out of the 251 that exist, but there are very sensitive areas that will have to be analyzed in this period that starts now and will take some time to conclude”, he said.

for thespecialist from CNN, however, some of the issues that the country will have to negotiate with the OECD are very delicate.

“For the OECD countries to unanimously approve an accession – today there are 37 members – this negotiation is necessary, including very important issues, such as market opening, the issue of governance, but above all, the issue of corruption and the environment. .”

Barbosa said he thought it was not a coincidence, for example, that the OECD also released on Tuesday, almost simultaneously with the news about negotiations for possible new members, a ranking with the position of countries on the issue of corruption.

“And Brazil got worse, it dropped in this index. So, in the negotiation that will begin and will last several years – only the new government will be able to join the OECD – these areas, above all, will be fundamental.”

Barbosa also said that more significant progress on this issue should not be expected until the end of the government of Jair Bolsonaro (PL). “THE [atual] government will take action, but it will be the next one that will determine whether or not we will enter the OECD based on the answers given to the questionnaires [da organização]”, he concluded.