The president of the Dominican Free Zone Association Arturo Peguero, has told reporters that the textile agreement between the United States and China will offer protection, at least temporarily, for all of the textiles that the Dominican Republic ships to the United States. What the agreement does not do, however, is offer protection from the ever-increasing amount of exports coming from other Asian nations such as India, Pakistan or Bangladesh. “Even so, (the agreement) does offer an early warning and stability within the great uncertainties brought about by China…,” which, Peguero continued, “distorted the equilibrium of supply and demand..” The new textile agreement will cover three years, from 1 January 2006 until 31 December 2008, and offers some breathing room for textile companies in Central America and the Caribbean to readjust their businesses by vertical integration, or other means, as well as more flexible rule on textile origins that will be offered by the DR-CAFTA agreement. The agreement provides for safeguards for 34 articles of clothing (versus 19 under current arrangements), imposing tighter controls on quotas for what are called “mainstream products” such as shirts, pants and underwear.