The former chief of trade negotiations of the nation, Frederic Emam Zade told the Listin Diario newspaper that if the country does not sign the Free Trade Agreement with Central America its international image will be affected as well as its capacity to be taken seriously for future negotiations of this kind. He said Dominicans will be taken as charlatans. He said particular interests have kept the treaty from being signed by the Senate. He also said that there are sectors in the Congress that hope to profit from passing the treaty. He said the treaty is beneficial for the country, as the nation was able to exempt 23 products from duty free treaty, while Central America’s negative list only includes nine items. He said that the values for the exports of those items are insignificant. He said that to not sign the agreement would affect millions of Central American and Dominicans, all for political interests and those of some private interests, that do not have the arguments to justify their opposition. One of the points of controversy revolves around the exemption of 2,200 tons of milk that Costa Rica would be able to export to the DR, duty free. He said that the Costa Rican negotiations are sought to export 6,000 tons, which was reduced to 2,200 tons. Former Minister of Industry & Commerce Luis Manuel Bonetti has been linked to having favored this import. But Frederic Emam Zade says that the decision was not a particular one of the minister, and was taken by the representatives of the agriculture sector that were present during the negotiations.
