Brazil files initial memorandum, moves one step closer to joining OECD

Brazil’s bid to become a member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has reached another milestone. The Brazilian government has sent the international organization—which brings together the most industrialized economies on the planet—the initial memorandum, a document that should provide the basis for future efforts to gauge the country’s alignment with the group’s commitments.

Sent in a letter dated September 30, the memorandum was presented during a Thursday (Oct 6) ceremony at the Planalto presidential palace. The delivery took place as scheduled in the roadmap for Brazil’s accession to the group, approved by the OECD in June.

The 1,170-page-long memorandum measures the degree of alignment of the candidate nation’s legislation, policies, and practices with OECD standards across 32 different sectors. Among the areas assessed are trade, investment, digital economy, health, education, environment, competition, tourism, and nuclear energy.

The level of compliance with each of the 230 standards is scrutinized—208 of which are indispensable for entry into the organization. According to the Brazilian government, the country has adhered to 108 standards and is in the process of adhering to 45 more.

“The initial memorandum will provide the basis for future technical discussions between the working group with the organization. Brazil seeks to ally itself with the avant-garde and with developed countries,” said the president’s Chief of Staff Ciro Nogueira.

In the view of Brazil’s Foreign Minister Carlos França, the country should profit considerably from gaining OECD membership, a journey that takes decades. “The deepening of relations with the OECD, once it culminates with Brazil’s entry into the organization, will help us tackle our bottlenecks and shortcomings, the famous Brazil cost,” he declared.

Also in attendance, Economy Minister Paulo Guedes stated that membership should help Brazil establish itself as one of the planet’s top economies. The process paves the way for access to major international organizations, he pointed out, such as a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.

“After the end of the access process, Brazil will be the only country simultaneously in the OECD, the G20, and Brics. This may open the way for the nation to join the United Nations Security Council [on a permanent basis],” he added.

Journey

In January this year, Brazil received the invitation letter to initiate the OECD accession process. Besides Brazil, the organization invited five countries: Argentina, Peru, Romania, Bulgaria, and Croatia.

The country drafted an accession plan, approved by the OECD in June. The schedule pledged the delivery of the memorandum by the end of this year. The assessment of Brazil’s alignment with OECD standards involved 972 federal technicians from 26 ministries.

Without a defined deadline, the process of joining the OECD should end when its council extends a formal invitation to Brazil to enter the organization, after all technical reviews and discussions. Convergence with OECD standards is part of a broad strategy to strengthen the country’s integration on the global stage, the government said.