The president of the Federation of Industrial Associations, Ignacio Mendez said that the new law that eliminates tax exemptions on inputs used by local medicine industries is a "barbarity." The tariff reform law 146-00 of 27 December 2000 had exempted raw material, packaging inputs, machinery and spare parts for use in the manufacture of medicines for human and animal use. But the later passed law, set all that back. The medicine manufacturers say imported medicine will now be cheaper than locally produced medicine. In an editorial today, the Listin Diario says that the immediate effect will be an increase in the cost of generic medicine of about 20%. But in the long range, the new law will progressively make the local industry lose market share. There is no logic in producing at a higher cost what is cheaper to import, it explains. The new law primarily affects the production of generic medicines in the DR. "It is senseless to continue burdening the lower brackets of citizens with the weight of this mix of inflation and speculation that has affected the products the people need to eat and for their health," says the newspaper.
