Representatives of wholesalers, retailers and importers gathered at Hoy newspaper’s offices to discuss the possible effects of the proposals made last week by the National Council of Private Business (CONEP). In summary, the group called the proposals inflationary, saying that the proposed indexation would cause gasoline to rise to RD$100 per gallon. One speaker, Domingo Espinal Collado said that the proposals, especially those that referred to a universal VAT would turn the Dominican Republic into a “powder keg” waiting to go off. Espinal Collado was also very critical of the agreement signed last week between the Dominican Export Association and the government, whereby the exporters would voluntarily give the government RD$1 for every dollar exported. Manuel Cabrera, a spokesman for the Dominican Association of Wholesale Importers (ASDAI) told Aleida Placencia of Hoy newspaper that the current economic situation prevents businessman from doing any planning because of the uncertainty over “what will happen tomorrow.”