Dominican authorities have not yet received any information from the United States regarding rumors that the Trump Administration would act to remove the DR and other countries participating in DR-CAFTA from the trade privileges. Foreign Minister Miguel Vargas said that the news reports are just rumors. During an interview on one of the morning talks shows, Vargas said the United States is one the main beneficiary of the DR-CAFTA. “The trade balance is favorable to the United States at this time, but I must reiterate that this is not an official declaration and it does not correspond to the official position of the United States…” El Dia reports the US has a US$2.6 billion trade surplus with the Dominican Republic.
A report in Diario Libre cites William Malamud, executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce, said no official information has come from the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), that deals with the DR-CAFTA treaty. Nevertheless, Malamud says it is likely the talks have taken place at the National Security Council, albeit unofficially, and the reason is concern among US authorities that China could seek to take advantage of Dominican trade privileges to sell more goods to the United States market. The National Security Council (NSC) is the US presidency body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security.
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Diario Libre
Diario Libre
Hoy
McClatchy
El Nacional
US Trade
US Census
US Census
USTR
US Chamber of Commerce
El Dia
14 January 2019
