The Minister of Agriculture Frank Rodríguez and Minister of Industry and Commerce, concurred last week that the country will respect agreements made under the World Trade Organization. Nevertheless, Frank Rodríguez said that his department will maintain its decision to grant health permits for the import of agriculture products. He stated this is legal under the WTO. “You cannot export any product to any place in the world just as you want. You cannot export “longaniza” (Dominican sausage) to the U.S., as it will be placed in quarantine. Then why can’t we do the same here?” he asked.
Last week, the Minister said he would not allow “indiscriminate imports of agriculture products that ruin national producers and that it would be necessary to obtain authorizations from that department for such imports. “My position is to not permit the entrance of agriculture products that can affect national production,” he stated.
His comments clashed with the opinion of the Minister of Industry and Commerce, Luis Manuel Bonetti who, following his colleague Frank Rodríguez’s opinion, said that the country will respect commitments with the WTO that eliminate obstacles, permits and objections to imports. The two ministers then called a joint press conference indicating their opinions were not in contradiction. Luis Bonetti said he agrees with the Minister of Agriculture’s intention to help local producers to become more competitive and fulfill international commerce agreements.
“It is the responsibility of the goverment to support national producers and to comply with agreements signed with the WTO,” said Luis Bonetti. “In that sense”, he said, “I believe the Minister of Agriculture is clear in regard to the commitments the country has with the WTO and therefore all measures taken for future imports will be under the legal framework of the WTO.