Grlić Radman not worried: Trump has no reason to block Croatia

(Patria) - US President Donald Trump has no reason to block Croatia, said Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman yesterday, after Croatia's vote in the trade committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) was postponed.

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First blow of Trump administration to neighbours: Croatia's entry into OECD halted

(Patria) - Croatia has found itself in the crosshairs of the Donald Trump administration for the first time since he became US president again.Croatia's entry into the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has been temporarily halted due to the conflict between the US and the EU over tariffs.

- (Trump) has no reason to block Croatia, this does not refer to Croatia, but we repeat again - in this context of relations between the US and the EU - said Grlić Radman, before a joint session of the Presidency and the National Committee of the Croatian Democratic Union.

The postponement of the vote in the OECD trade committee comes at a time of trade conflict between the US and the EU, after Trump said he would impose 25 percent tariffs on imports from the EU, and Brussels immediately announced it would respond with countermeasures.

The minister was answering a journalist's question about whether Trump would even care that, as Grlić Radman said, "Croatia is the fastest on the path to achieving that membership."

- Croatia is the fastest among eight countries on the path to achieving that membership. So far, we have completed discussions in 19 out of 25 committees, and in the trade committee, we have also met all expected criteria and conditions - added Grlić Radman.

He stressed that he is not worried about the situation, adding that he does not believe a serious blockade of Croatia's accession can occur.

- I don't know why we would be worried. This should be viewed within the general context of relations between the US and the EU, within the context of perhaps increasingly strained relations when it comes to foreign trade - stated Grlić Radman.

Alongside Croatia, two other EU members - Bulgaria and Romania, South American countries Brazil, Argentina and Peru, and Asian countries Indonesia and Thailand - are currently negotiating OECD membership.