The president of the Association of Industries of Haina, Richard Arostegui, says that if the national authorities do not give priority to helping the nation?s industries to reduce their costs, investors will leave the country and the free trade agreements that have been signed will be reduced to free import agreements.
?There is no bigger sacrifice than for an industry to relocate and then for us to have to import those goods into the local market free of duty,? he pointed out.
Arostegui said that productive sectors need to be relieved of taxes and given access to low-cost money and good power service, among other measures. He said companies need access to raw materials and the elimination of all obstacles affecting them today. Among these, he mentioned how businesses must pay government social security, while having to contract private medical insurance plans for employees. He backed the position of the National Council of Business (CONEP), which believes that all the taxes collected are worthless if they do not go to improve the standard of living of the population. He said the best way to improve the standard of living is to stimulate production so as to generate more jobs.