Deputies ratify DR-CAFTA
The Chamber of Deputies ratified the DR-CAFTA agreement yesterday by a vote of 118-24. The Senate had approved the legislation last 25 August. United States ambassador Hans Hertell visited the deputies to congratulate them on the bill's passage. As a result of the legislative approval, as from January 2006 goods and services from the United States will enter the Dominican Republic 80% duty free. The remaining 20% will gradually be reduced over a specified period of time. The deputies took over eight hours of deliberations before the final vote. As reported in Hoy, the deputies that voted against the bill or who abstained said that the main reason for their negatives was the fact that they felt that the deputies had not fully understood the legislation they were approving. The FTA agreement is comprised of some 2,000 pages of text. Several of the deputies, including Pelegrin Castillo (FNP-National District), said that the legislation did not contain enough guarantees for local producers and should have been sent to a sub-committee for scrutiny.
Overall, the objectives of the DR-CAFTA agreement are the expansion and promotion of commercial ties between the Dominican Republic, the Central American nations and the United States, abolishing trade restrictions, easing frontier barriers for merchandise, and promoting fair trade in a duty free zone. Investment opportunities are another big part of the FTA, which also includes multiple guarantees and incentives for foreign investors.