The entire business community has expressed a very strong negative to x-raying of freight containers in Customs at a cost of US$25 and US$90 dollars per container. They request that President Mejia veto the bill that imposes the service on exporters.
Exporters argue this new imposition would take them out of the marketplace.
The National Council of Business (Conep) opposes the measure because it considerably increases cost of the product and the competitiveness of Dominican exports. Conep says that the bill violates the Constitution because it creates a monopoly for a private company. “How are we going to talk about judicial security and competitiveness in an environment where the business sector is subject to continuous surprises?
The Association of Industries of the Dominican Republic also rejected the mechanism considering it lacks the necessary transparency because it has not been openly discussed with the sectors that will be affected. Lisandro Macarrulla, president of the AIRD, said that a tender was not held, and nevertheless a monopoly was granted to the private company, which is prohibited in the Constitution. He criticized that the contract contains clauses that guarantees the profitability. Who will be cashing the returns is suspect, he said.