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

(Patria) - Croatia has found itself in the crosshairs of Donald Trump's 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.

The vote on Croatia has been postponed, the government confirmed to Index, assuring that Croatia's entry into the OECD will still proceed as planned.

The government says Croatia has completed accession discussions before 19 of the 25 committees for OECD entry, which is significantly more than the remaining seven countries in the accession process.

Of these 19 committees, 17 have already issued a formal opinion. Formal opinions are still pending from the environment committee and the trade committee.

The government notes that this is not a blockade of the accession process, as the vote has not been completed. The vote within the trade committee, which has been halted, will be held, they say, when conditions are met.

- We are in contact with our American partners and colleagues at the OECD. We will work together on a solution - the government states.

Zdenko Lucić, State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, also spoke out.

- It is not true that the US is blocking Croatia's entry into the OECD, nor have they blocked Croatia in the trade committee.

Croatia has met all OECD conditions, meaning it is aligned with the OECD on trade matters. The American partners requested that the vote be held at another time - said Lucić.

He explains that the 38 member states need to agree on a unanimous position, after which Croatia concludes its work before that committee, adding that reaching a consensus can take up to 10 months.

He adds that it has happened before that votes in some committees were postponed.

- But that was resolved in cooperation with the OECD and member states that had some questions, so this is nothing new; it is a kind of standard procedure, and we do not see any particular problem here - says Lucić.

He also notes that the discussion in the trade committee, held on 15 October last year, was "positively concluded."

- According to OECD assessments, Croatia is highly aligned with OECD trade policies, and a formal vote on concluding work before that committee is pending - claims Lucić.

The OECD is an important association of developed countries that brings together 38 members, including leading world economies such as the US, Germany, Japan, and France.

Joining this organisation has been one of Croatia's foreign policy priorities in recent years, as membership brings reputational and economic benefits - from enhancing investment attractiveness to participating in shaping global economic rules.

However, the procedure for admitting new members requires consensus among all existing member states.

This is precisely where the problem has now arisen - due to the trade war that the Trump administration has reignited with the EU, the US has decided to block decisions in international organisations where the EU has strong influence. Thus, Croatia has become collateral damage in the US-European disputes.

Behind it all lies a new wave of tariff conflicts between Washington and Brussels. Trump accuses the EU of burdening American products with excessively high tariffs, while the EU, on the other hand, announces countermeasures on American goods.

Given that decisions in the OECD are made unanimously, the Trump administration is using the possibility of a blockade as a tool of pressure.

Croatia was formally invited to negotiations for OECD membership in January 2022, and has so far aligned most of its legislation and standards with the organisation's rules.

Entry was initially expected during 2025, but now it is questionable whether current global political conflicts will slow down that plan.

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