El Siglo newspaper reports on another conflict between a government department and the very active Minister of Industry and Commerce. Santiago Tejada, who is in charge of trade negotiations at the Ministry of Foreign relations, reportedly criticized Angel Lockward’s handling of DR negotiations on the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas. The Mejia government gave Lockward the power to lead those negotiations. Tejada says that Lockward has kept matters very much to himself, violating the openness and participatory nature that characterized trade negotiations lead by the National Trade Negotiations Commission (CNNC) based at the Ministry of Foreign Relations. Tejada said that Lockward’s attitude is creating conflicts and difficulties in the negotiation process. He advocated a return to open participation for all sectors of society and business as occurred in the past. "Since the Ministry of Industry and Commerce has been handling the negotiations, participation is restricted and the delegations are very limited and only made up of those he hand picks in a very limited and hidden way and that has to be resolved." He said officials of the Ministry of Foreign Relations met with the President on the idea of returning the Free Trade negotiations to the Ministry of Foreign Relations. He said that in the meantime, Foreign Relations has continued working through the CNNC because the decree that passed the management of FTAA to Industry & Commerce did not eliminate the work of the commission. He commented this has lead to a duplication of efforts.
