Chile

Interest in OECD Membership

Chile has on various occasions, expressed interest in OECD Membership, the first time at Deputy Secretary General Taniguchi’s visit, in 1994. On 17 March 1995, Mr José Miguel Insulza, Minister for Foreign Affairs, wrote to the Secretary-General expressing the wish that Chile “be considered for possible membership of the OECD”. In a letter to the Secretary-General in November 2003, Ambassador Schilling formally requested Chile become an OECD member.

Accession Process

On 16 May 2007, the Council at Ministrial level decided to open discussions with Chile (and with Estonia, Israel, the Russian Federation and Slovenia) and invited the Secretary-General to set out the terms, conditions and process for the accession of each of these countries to the OECD for subsequent consideration and adoption by Council.  The Council approved the Roadmap for Chile’s accession process on 30 November 2007.

Chile and the OECD acquis

Chile already adheres to some important parts of the OECD acquis:
- The Declaration on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises (like all other accession candidates except Russia);
- The Anti-Bribery Convention (like Estonia and Slovenia, but unlike Israel and Russia).

In addition:
- Chile has indicated its position on the OECD Model Tax Convention (for the 2008 update), which it uses as a basis for its bilateral tax treaties;
- The Compliance of Chile’s pension regulations with the OECD Recommendations on Core Principles of Occupational Pension Regulation was assessed as part of its request for the Working Party on Private Pensions (WPPP) observership;
- Chile has adhered to six agricultural schemes (all other candidates have adhered to some schemes);
- Chile is a member of the Development Centre;
- Chile adhered to the Declaration on Sovereign Wealth Funds and Recipient Country Policies adopted at the 2008 MCM on 5 June 2008;
- Chile was one of the nine non-Members to adopt the Seoul Declaration on the Future of the Internet Economy on 18 June 2008.

Highlights of the Co-operation with OECD

The co-operation with Chile has been active, even in the absence of a full-fledge “country programme”.
Since 1993, Chile has participated in the OECD’s former Emerging Market Economy Forum and the Policy Dialogue with Dynamic Non-Member Economies.  In the South American Programme (2001), Chile has actively participated in several activities.

Chile hosted the 2001 Global Forum on Trade “Trade and Development Issues in Non-OECD Countries”, held on 14-15 June 2001, in Santiago.

The EDRC review of the first Economic Survey of Chile took place on 11 September 2003.  A second survey was completed by the Economics Department and the ERDC review took place on 5 September 2005. A third Economic survey of Chile was dicussed by the EDRC on 9 October 2007. It focuses on the efficiency of government policies (especially in health and education), informality in the enterprise sector, and participation by women in the labour market.

The first review of Education Policy of Chile was examined by the Education Committee on 27-28 October 2003.  The Chile review was published in English, French, and Spanish in early 2004. It has been reprinted in Spanish as more than 2000 copies were distributed. On 24-25 October 2005, Chile hosted the first meeting of the OECD Global Forum on Education.

Chile, with four other maritime countries, launched the Ministerial Task Force on illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing as part of efforts under the auspices of the OECD's Round Table on Sustainable Development to preserve world fishery resources.  This Task Force was established in December 2003, with the respective participation of Ministers from Australia, Britain, Namibia and New Zealand, besides Chile, and with a duration of between eighteen months and two years.

The results of a peer review of competition law and policy in Chile was published in May 2004.
A study by the Economics department, undertaken in the framework of the Latin America program, focused on the determinants of competitiveness in Argentina, Brazil, Chile. It was published in November 2004 under the title “trade and competitiveness in Argentina, Brazil, Chile”. An Environmental Performance Review of Chile was conducted, with the final meeting taking place in January 2005. The results of the study were presented to the authorities at highest level and some of the recommendations have been implemented immediately.

A peer review of Chile’s innovation policy was done by the OECD’s Committee on Science and Technology policy at its meeting on 26-27 March 2007.

A review of Chile’s agricultural policies was published in 2008.

Chile’s Participation in OECD Bodies

Full Participant 
- Co-operative Action Programme on Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) and its Directing Committee 
- Governing Board of the Development Centre 
- Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions of the Investment Committee  
- Investment Committee work related to the Declaration on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises

Regular Observer
- Trade Committee and its Working Party
- Investment Committee and its working groups
- Committee for Agriculture and its subsidiary bodies
- Public Governance Committee and its subsidiary bodies
- Joint Working Party on Agriculture and Trade
- Education Policy Committee
- Committee on Statistics and its subsidiary bodies
- Committee on Fiscal Affairs
- Committee on Scientific and Technological Policy
- Working Party on Private Pensions (IPPC)
- Territorial Development Policy Committee
- Competition Committee

OECD Publications on Chile

- OECD Review of Agricultural Policies: Chile (2008)
- OECD Economic Survey of Chile (2007)
- Competition law and policy in Latin America: peer reviews of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Peru (November 2006)
- OECD Economic Survey of Chile (2005)
Challenges to fiscal adjustment in Latin America: the cases of Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico (February 2006)
- OECD environmental  performance review of Chile (2005)
- Trade and competitiveness in Argentina, Brazil, Chile (2004)
- Competition law and policy in Chile: a peer review (2004)
- Corporate governance and development: experience of Brazil, Chile, India and South Africa (2004)
- Review of national policies for education: Chile (2004)
- Economic Survey of Chile (2003)
Review of foreign direct investment in Chile (1997)