Governor Anibal Acevedo Vila and Resident Commissioner Luis Fortuno are enthusiastic about the passing of DR-CAFTA by the US Congress.
“DR-CAFTA will help Puerto Rico’s economy as it passes through difficult times,” said Acevedo Vila. “This is going to help us open markets for Puerto Rico’s products and services in the D.R. and other areas of the Caribbean. Our plan to convert Puerto Rico’s economy into ?an export economy’ goes hand in hand with DR-CAFTA,” Vila told Puerto Rican journalist John Collins in a recent interview.
Speaking from Washington Fortuno hailed DR-CAFTA will signal the opening of new markets that will grow. “This is important in the case of Puerto Rico’s exports. Our business people will now be able to export their goods to these countries without costly duties,” he said.
The Puerto Rico Trade Co. is the government agency that has been most involved in ensuring that Puerto Rico shares the benefits of DR-CAFTA. “Its potential for opening up new markets for exports from Puerto Rico is tremendous,” said Puerto Rico Trade executive director Ricardo Rivera. He said they would be moving beyond traditional export sectors and looking toward services. “There are important cross-border service provisions in DR-CAFTA for which our private sector is uniquely situated because of its expertise. I’m talking about legal, architecture, medical, engineering and management services. These are areas in which we have a lot of experience.”
“I’m very happy with the ratification of DR-CAFTA,” said William Riefkohl, executive vice president of the Puerto Rico Manufacturers Association (PRMA), who added that the PRMA intends to be very involved in these six countries, especially the DR. “It is our biggest market in the region and has tremendous potential for business people in Puerto Rico. We are launching a program to identify niches and areas where our members can compete.”
Products from the DR enter the US including Puerto Rico duty-free under the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) but exports from the U.S. including Puerto Rico to the DR have been subject to duty.
This will change effective 1 January 2006 when DR-CAFTA is due to be implemented. With the ratification by the US Congress now accomplished, this leaves three other countries that still need to take legislative action. These are Costa Rica, the D.R. and Nicaragua.