The executive vice-president of the Junta Agroempresarial Dominicana, Osmar Benítez, attributes the weak position of Dominican agriculture to the government’s failure to draft a timely proposal for WTO consideration as did most countries, including the United States and the European Union. He says that JAD was the only institution that raised the alarm about the country’s trade delegates to the Uruguay Trade Round who did a very poor job in defending the country’s interests.
Mr. Benítez says that the Dominican Republic should apply the Agreement on General Safeguards which allows nations to impose additional duties in the event of an unexpected surge in imports. In addition, he calls for the application of the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Duties, which authorizes countries, subject to the WTO’s approval, to impose restrictions on imports of heavily-subsidized products.