The United Kingdom Ambassador to the Dominican Republic, Chris Campbell says that with the departure of his country from the European Union, a world of opportunities is opening up for both the UK and the Dominican Republic in all areas, especially in terms of commercial exchange.
Campbell said that last Saturday, 1 February 2020 the United Kingdom began a new era in its history after the formalization of the “Brexit.” “We are looking for new markets and new roles in the world,” he announced on behalf of the UK. He said Brexit opens the door to many business opportunities because England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland c as a kingdom constitute the fifth largest economy in the world.
“We have had US$105 million of British imports into the DR, and US$130 million of Dominican exports, which is good, but it can be better and bigger. In that sense, we need new markets on both sides, new products to import and export,” he observed.
“Let’s take advantage of this new agreement as much as possible to export and import, exchange ideas and innovation, creativity and technology because we are leaders in artificial intelligence, but we need to agree on which products the Dominican Republic wants to export,” he said.
Ambassador Chris Campbell said that his country’s exit from the European Union will not negatively impact relations with the Dominican Republic or its commercial exchange. He explained that on 4 April 2020, the Cariforum-UK Agreement that replaces the Economic Association Agreement (EPA) with the European Union was signed in London.
He recalled that the United Kingdom and the Dominican Republic do not need to sign a free trade agreement to guarantee commercial exchange, since companies and businesses in both countries can continue to trade as they have done up to now, under the umbrella of the Cariforum-UK Agreement, free of additional tariffs and barriers.
He said the Cariforum-UK agreement also covers the service sector, including tourism, which will benefit British visitors to the Caribbean, including the nearly 190,000 who visit the Dominican Republic each year.
Nevertheless, he said it is important the Dominican Congress ratify the agreement as soon as possible. “We are in a year of transition, and for this year we are under the rules of the European Union, and there is no change for Dominican companies or for our companies, as far as exports are concerned,” he said.
However, the ambassador of the United Kingdom recalled that most Dominican products already have a market, as in the United States, so to export more the country needs a greater production that also meets the standards and quality criteria of the market.
Read more in Spanish:
El Caribe
4 February 2020