Richard Arostegui, of the Haina Companies and Industries Association (AEIH) stated over the weekend that the cost of installing a company in the DR is 30% higher compared to Central America. He said that if this situation is not resolved before the FTA with the US goes into effect, the treaty would be merely one way. “We are only going to import and not export,” he said. He criticized the fact that companies in the DR are subject to a 3% surcharge on machinery, 13% exchange surcharge, and 16% ITBIS tax. Furthermore, DR labor costs are for the most part among the highest in Central America and Mexico, and power and fuel costs are the highest. The at present overvalued peso is not helping the situation, either. Over the weekend, discussions continued on the over 12,000 job suspensions in apparel manufacturing free zone companies.