President Hipolito Mejia thanked the business community for their decision to make the so-called “temporary solidarity contributions” to government coffers, with the aim of helping the government overcome its deficit and get the “standby” agreement with the International Monetary Fund back on track. Exporters’ association ADOEXPO president Samir Rizek asked President Mejia to withdraw the proposed surcharge on export items. The associations is also asking for guarantees that fiscal stability, budgetary balance and monetary and exchange rate stability will be restored. They demand that small- and medium-sized businesses be protected from the possible effects of a forthcoming regional free-trade agreement and immediate fiscal reform. The President addressed ADOEXPO’s XVIII Dominican Exporters’ Dinner, thanking them for being “the only ones who had paid” – a reference to the surcharges on exports.