Thirty-three deputies had something to say about the proposed elimination of the tax on soft drinks made with the now-notorious corn syrup (HFCS). After three hours of debate, the Chamber of Deputies decided to eliminate Article 375, Paragraph 9, of the Tax Reform Law. The proposal had been declared urgent by the legislators and was approved in two consecutive readings. Only 13 legislators voted against the proposal. The bulk of the 33 deputies’ speeches, according to Hoy, was devoted to the need to compensate the affected sectors of the Dominican agricultural enterprises in the short term and the Free Trade Agreement in general. The president of the Chamber, Alfredo Pacheco, had to remind the deputies of the difference between the syrup tax and the FTA, and remind the deputies that it was the Dominican Republic that requested to be included in the trade agreement that was originally devised for Central American countries only. Pacheco warned of Dominican isolation in the face of powerful economic forces in the surrounding region.