The Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Roberto Azevêdo, said on Thursday (21.3.2019) that a possible entry of Brazil into the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) would be "very important", since "many of the global negotiations are defined there."
"Brazil within the OECD is now part of the discussion of the embryonic gestation of several agreements, several negotiations" in the field of the global economy, Azevêdo said during an event held in Sao Paulo.
According to the director, the loss of the differentiated status that Brazil enjoys in the WTO due to its status as a developing country would be a "small part" compared to what accession to the OECD would represent.
Azevêdo considered that the entity not only confers a "seal of quality" to its members, but is also the stage in which "the global agenda" is defined, since many agreements "that are developed there" end up being "discussed and negotiated in other forums, such as the WTO itself."
"A member of the OECD has the opportunity to start shaping the global agenda from within, which is absolutely essential," Azevêdo told reporters.
The director noted that the OECD also has "several benefits," including discussions on public policies and the most convenient commercial practices, as well as studies on the best treatments to face the main challenges of the modern economy.
However, Azevêdo stressed that it is the Brazilian government that "must answer" the question about the consequences of renouncing its status as a developing country in the WTO, which grants it certain favourable conditions when it comes to negotiating.
"In my reading, I did not understand that Brazil is giving up its status as a developing country, but rather using some spaces in that area. But that is a question that has to be put to the government," Azevêdo said.
In a meeting with authorities from various countries, held at the São Paulo headquarters of the International Chamber of Commerce, the director admitted that the global economy is going through a "moment of crisis," but maintained that the WTO has a "fundamental role" in the "preservation and stability" of the global environment.
"Without the WTO we would have the law of the jungle, where everyone loses, even those who believe they are at the top of the food chain," he assured.
In this regard, the director said that "there is a great deal of pragmatism" behind the controversial statements by US President Donald Trump that he could withdraw his country from international organisations such as the WTO if there are no changes in these entities.
Despite the threats, according to Azevêdo, the United States continues to participate "actively" in global discussions and maintains a "strategy" that consists of "destabilising" the current system in order to "create a new one".
"They (the US) want to transform the multilateral system into another type of system, one that is more compatible with the reality of today's world," the director said.
Also participating in the meeting in Sao Paulo was the Secretary of International Trade of the Ministry of Economy, Marcos Troyjo, who pointed out that Brazil must "competitively adapt" through international trade to the "type of globalization that is taking place."
The secretary said he was optimistic about the "extraordinary" possibilities that his country will be able to enjoy in the next four years thanks to the neoliberal policy promoted by the government of the far-right Jair Bolsonaro.
"We have (in the Government) an element of cohesion and coordination, we share the same diagnoses and forecasts, which offer extraordinary possibilities to Brazil," Troyjo said.
Source: Reuters
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