During Sunday’s broadcast of the President’s weekly TV show, “The Presidential Agenda”, Leonel Fernandez strongly urged the Dominican Congress to pass the corresponding DR-CAFTA legislation as soon as possible. He pointed out the negative consequences should this not go through, which include near exclusion from the United States markets after 2008. Eighty-five percent of Dominican exports are to the United States. Because of the huge fiscal implications, both for government and private enterprise, the President said that he was willing to sit down and talk to business and civilian sector representatives to iron out the rougher points of the necessary tax reform that will have to come about to substitute the billions in lost income that the DR-CAFTA means for the government’s treasury. In the President’s words, “Free trade will lead to tax reform and the strengthening of the Competitiveness Council.” Appearing on the program with the President were Eddy Martinez, the head of the Center for Exports and Investments (CEI-RD), Industry and Commerce Minister Francisco Garcia, Agriculture Minister Amilcar Romero, as well as his chief economic advisors, Julio Ortega Tous. Fernandez recognized the problem of state subsidies, especially on products that will be able to enter the DR tax-free under the CAFTA agreement. He said that he would bring up this point at the World Trade Organization meeting in Hong Kong in December.
Meanwhile, the president of the industry & commerce commission of the Senate, Alejandro Santos, told the Listin Diario that the treaty could be approved in a month’s time. He said that government officers and representatives of business sectors are discussing measures to compensate the government for the decline in revenues once the FTA goes into effect, and the improve the competitiveness of the private sector.