The American Chamber of Commerce and the Association of Industries of Herrera concur with Carlos Guillermo Leon, president of the Foundation for Justice and Institutionality, and vice president of one of the leading Dominican companies, in their request that the government fulfill its promise to remove the exchange surcharge on foreign currency transactions. Spokesmen for the organizations say that the exchange surcharge increases their costs and the price of items sold locally. The government had charged 1.75% exchange commission, increasing it to 5% in October 1999 to compensate for not increasing the domestic price of fuel when petroleum prices abroad began to go up. The Mejia government had committed to remove it as soon as the new fiscal measures were implemented and the price of fuel was adjusted to international levels. The American Chamber of Commerce says that the macroeconomic stabilization scheme that the government is applying does not promote the global competitiveness of the local industry. They mention there should be more stimulus for savings, long term investments, lower interest rates and a real, competitive while stable exchange rate.
