MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina to reapply for OECD membership

The process could take years, Mondino said

Argentina's new Foreign Minister Diana Mondino confirmed that her country would resume the process of joining the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which had been initiated under President Mauricio Macri (2015-2019) but was dropped during the Alberto Fernández years (2019-2023).

 

Macri had applied for membership in March 2016, but Fernández rejected the invitation to join the organization in January 2022. “We have already agreed with Mr. Andreas Schaal, director of global relations of the OECD, that Argentina will sign the accession to the OECD tomorrow,” Mondino explained Sunday.

After Argentina signs the new documents on Monday, the process, which involves a technical evaluation of the country's economic, legal, and political standards, could take years. The only other Latin American countries in the OECD are Mexico, Chile, Colombia, and Costa Rica.

The OECD was founded in Paris in 1961 to coordinate the economic, social, and environmental policies of its member countries. It is composed of 38 members.

Argentina has been accepted to join the BRICS bloc (an alliance of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) as of January 1, but Mondino said the proposal would be declined. Other countries such as Iran and Egypt will join the group on that date.

Marcelo Scaglione, who was Argentina's representative to the OECD during the Macri administration, was in charge of restarting Argentina's agenda to join the bloc.

Membership in the OECD could allow Argentina to attract foreign investment by adopting the organization's standards to have a greater presence in international markets.

Flamboyant announcements aside, the country is eager to hear what Economy Minister Luis Toto Caputo has to say early Monday when he outlines the first measures of the new administration, which are expected to consist of a devaluation and other sharp adjustments.

According to presidential Spokesman Manuel Adorni, Caputo's message was to be made at 8 a.m. but he has now said it was going to be on Tuesday. Milei’s administration still has many appointments to make and although the names have been chosen, the officials from the Alberto Fernández administration had not been told not to show up for work on Monday.

Milei had promised to dollarize Argentina's economy, and the new steps are expected to go in that direction, along with a 15% cut in public spending and a downsizing of the state, plus a labor reform and the elimination of taxes.