DR-Cafta from a Different Perspective

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Chris

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Oct 21, 2002
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I came across piece of research with the abstract being :

<small>"Patron-client relationships have detrimental implications on the socioeconomic development of communities. In this paper, I study the patron-client relationship between the U.S. and Central America and present a conceptual framework that suggests that the existence of a patron-client relationship 1) increases competition, 2) reduces social trust and collective action, and 3) is detrimental to its prospective regional socioeconomic development. I also review CAFTA and claim that it breaks with the traditional patron-client relationship between the U.S. and Central America, and that it provides some positive incentives that may benefit Central America?s development efforts."</small>


<small>For those of us that has difficulty in finding just exactly what DR-Cafta means to the DR, this gives a little different perspective. I don't have time now to do a short precis, but for those who like to read .. here it is.</small>


<small>CENTRAL AMERICA - CAFTA and the U.S. Patron-Client Relationship with Dominican Republic and Central America - AlterInfos - Am?rica Latina
</small>
 
Hillbilly

Hillbilly

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Jan 1, 2002
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Typical of that school of thought. But interesting reading, nonetheless.

Scary if you are a DR industrialist, farmer or merchant, huh?

HB
 
C

Chris

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It does not seem to be one of those 'all bad' things though - I expected a pure socialist/marxist slant. He does say :

"CAFTA presents an unprecedented opportunity to Central America to increase horizontal integration and lessen patron-client bond with U.S."


and


"CAFTA may not be the panacea that launches rapid socioeconomic development in Central America, but it is a step away from the historical patron-client relationship between the U.S. and Central America. The trick will be for Central America to take advantage of the incentives provided under CAFTA to develop the horizontal linkages and regional organization that will allow them to work together toward common goals and to lessen dependence on the U.S."

(the bolding is mine)

I've been vaguely thinking about the supposedly cheaper food coming in under DR-Cafta and wondering about how this would affect overall Dominican Republic Food Security if there is not a price incentive for local producers to continue producing for the local market.

From that perspective, I found the the two quotes above a departure of the usual stuff coming from this school.
 
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aegap

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Mar 19, 2005
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Here's something even greater:

go out into the world and make additional free trade agreements like crazy:

The DR may benifit more (including lessening dependence) by doing additional free trade agreements with China, Mexico, Europe, etc. can it would by "developing horizontal linkages and regional organization in cunjunction with Central-America," specially if Costa Rica stays out of DR-CAFTA and the current protectionist hold that has taken over the United States prevents countires like Colombia, Ecuador, South Korea, etc from getting greater access to the U.S. market in the form of a free trade agreement of themself ..
 
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aegap

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Mar 19, 2005
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A version of what I said above happening would be a super great coup for the DR!

*when I typed China I had the Republic of China in mind. Also I forgot to specifically mention Canada and South Korea on that list.
 
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aegap

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Mar 19, 2005
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Chris, It's a great read from III onward.

From the article:

BOX 1 ? MAJOR CAFTA PROVISIONS
..

? Competition policy: the dismantling of national monopolies.
Click to expand...

Will DR-CAFTA finally bring down the "owners of the country"?, ..

Yesterday:




Truck Drivers' Protest Affects Puerto Plata's Port

Santo Domingo.- The Dominican Customs and Armed Forces took over part of the port at Puerto Plata on Monday, after Fenatrado union truck drivers blocked the access routes.

It was reported that Customs director Miguel Cocco and Armed Forces minister Ramon Aquino ordered the port occupied in response to the truckers? action. According to the reports, the truck drivers blocked the access routes to keep merchandise importers from using their own vehicles to retrieve the cargo.
It was learned that the military contingent deployed obstacles from the streets that access the pier, but there were no arrests of the drivers who caused the disorder.

Cocco said disorders and the drivers? monopoly to haul merchandise from the ports will not be allowed. "The one who tries to cause disorder will have to confront not only the Customs authorities, but also the Armed Forces, which will not allow alteration of public peace.?

It was reported that even with the disorders on Monday the port?s activities were normal, and that ship traffic from abroad was not affected.
Puerto Plata is the Dominican Atlantic coast?s largest terminal, with agricultural and diverse merchandise shipped to and from different foreign destinations, including United States and Port Rico.
Click to expand...

how it all started:

Los camioneros bloquearon las v?as de acceso al muelle de Puerto Plata, de acuerdo a los informes, para impedir que los importadores de mercanc?as llevaran sus propios veh?culos para el retiro de los embarques.

Se dijo que fue enviado un contingente militar, que retir? los obst?culos de las calles de acceso al muelle, pero no se practicaron detenciones de los transportistas que provocaron los desordenes.
Trascendi? que en conversaciones con dirigentes de los transportistas de Puerto Plata, Cocco Guerrero les advirti? que no permitir? desordenes y monopolio en el retiro de grupos de choferes en el retiro de mercanc?as de los muelles.

"El que intente provocar desordenes tendr? de frente no s?lo a las autoridades aduanales, sino tambi?n a las Fuerzas Armadas que no permitir?n alteraci?n de la paz p?blica", advirti? el director de Aduanas.

Se inform? que aunque las labores del muelle se vieron afectadas el lunes las mismas se desarrollan con normalidad, tanto en el orden administrativo como en la salida y llegada de embarques desde diferentes lugares del exterior.

El muelle de Puerto Plata es el mayor de la regi?n Norte que concentra diariamente grandes embarques de productos agr?colas y de mercanc?as diversas desde y hacia diferentes mercados extranjeros, incluyendo Estados Unidos y Puerto Rico.
Click to expand...

El Nacional, la voz de todos
 
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Don Juan

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The only, repeat, only reason for having astronomical prices for everything in DR are the powerful monopolies and unions that conspire to rip off the consumers with impunity.
If most future government policies are enforce to comply with CAFTA rules, we will soon (5 years?), be seeing the end of merciless/cutthroat businesses nationwide who'll face competition from the likes of Home Depot and Safeway. They'll die off and with cheaper imports and greater commerce/export worldwide, our little nation will prosper greatly! It's just a matter of time. Ten years, tops!
 
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aegap

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Mar 19, 2005
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Make free trade agreement like crazy, ..here's what I mean:

The DR can get more from Mexico than from all the Central American countries (including those outside CAFTA) combined, ..

Textiles: a Nafta-Cafta deal

The US has responded to pressure from both Mexico and Central America and has made a substantial modification to its rules of origin requirements. Under a deal announced on 26 January, textiles and clothes exported from Central America to the US that incorporate Mexican materials will enjoy preferential access to the US. Correspondingly, the agreement also covers clothes finished in Mexico but which use Central American materials that are exported to the US, and clothes that are sold in Mexico after being manufactured in Central America from US fibres.

The deal, effectively, abolishes the distinction between Nafta and Cafta textiles and should lead to a closer integration of the textile industries in Mexico and Central America. ... From the textile deal, it appears that Mexico will harmonise its free trade agreements with individual countries with any deals that the US makes. The result will be that Mexico and the US become a single market, when view from countries which have free trade agreements with both.

..[The US Trade Representative, Susan] Schwab said that the deal was the first of several such deals that needed to be made so that Central America could derive the fullest benefits of the Cafta deal. The Central American Free Trade Agreement, which also includes the Dominican Republic, has been approved by the US Congress and all the Central American legislatures involved with the exception of Costa Rica's.

What the deal is clearly designed to do is to prevent Asian textiles being triangulated through either Mexico or Central America and into the US. Exporters to the US (and also to Mexico and any Central American country) will have to demonstrate that they are using only local (Western Hemisphere) inputs for products to enjoy preferential access to any of the destination markets.

...

Under the Cafta-DR treaty, the US set annual quotas for imports for various tariff categories of clothes and textiles . Mexico has free trade agreements with each of the Central American signatories and now has agreed to harmonise its agreements with the Cafta-DR treaty, so that there is, effectively, a single tariff structure covering the textile industry from Mexico and Central America.

The Asian dimension

The agreement between Mexico and the US is clearly aimed at curbing the flow of textiles from Asia into both the US and Mexico . Both countries have seen their textile industries undermined by cheap products from Asia, and especially China. ...

....
Click to expand...
Intelligence Research Ltd
https://site.securities.com/login.html?sv=EMIS&pc=MX&error_code=



Florida Shippers
May 28

The Dominican Republic government is working on a deal with Mexico to allow the Caribbean island nation to export the excess of textile products from its industrial free-zone parks.

The Dominican Republic hopes to restructure its textile industry to benefit from the accumulation of "country-of-origin rules."

"We are working with the government of Mexico in the access to the benefits of that accumulation of origin rules," Foreign Relations Minister Carlos Morales said.

...
"That trade instrument constitutes a fundamental tool for attracting investments from any part of the world to the Dominican Republic and at the same time allows our productive sectors a permanent and privileged access of goods and services with reduction of tariffs and other non-tariff restrictions," Morales said.
Click to expand...
 
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