Both the Listin Diario and El Caribe’s economic sections are reporting on the very real opportunity for Dominican poultry and beef to enter the United States market as a result of the free trade talks taking place in Puerto Rico this week. Also included in the proposals are meat products such as salami and other processed meats. Dominican negotiators Osmar Benitez and Jesus de los Santos revealed that during the second round of talks, the team that is taking on the sanitation and phyto-sanitation measures managed to obtain the elimination of the technical barriers that for years have impeded US and Puerto Rican market access to Dominican green peppers and chick peas. Readers will remember that on Monday economist Bernardo Vega mentioned these very items. The US team brought up the rules and regulations that cover the entry of foodstuffs into their markets, as well as the steps taken by the EPA and the FDA in order to approve the technical aspects and avoid that these processes and rules become trade barriers. Benitez also said that the team looked at the various means to allow Dominican poultry to enter the US market within 18 months.