Goods exports were resumed to Haiti on 13 July 201 to avoid that the shortages generate greater instability and Haitian migration to Dominican territory. The land border was closed on 7 July 2021 following the murder of Haitian President Jovenel Moise.
A press release from the Presidency explains the exports are allowed for humanitarian reasons.
The Presidency indicated: “The sustainability of security depends very much on the normalization of trade between the two countries. Haitian citizens need Dominican agricultural and agro-industrial products to meet their food needs.”
On 13 July, the Ministry of Industry & Commerce authorized the passing through Jimaní of 20 tanker trucks with 60,000 propane gas gallons to supply Haiti.
Diario Libre highlighted in an editorial on 14 July 2021 the Haitian need for goods and the Dominican need to sell the goods. Haiti is the second most important market for Dominican goods, after the United States.
Negotiations expert Nelson Espinal Baez explains the long-standing arguments behind the closing of the border with the worsening of the political crisis in Haiti.
The Federation of Chambers of Commerce urges the reopening of the binational markets. Manuel Luna Sued, president of Fedocamaras, said: “Undoubtedly this temporary closure significantly affects the food supply to Haiti and of course, creates some economic instability among Dominican traders who benefit from this trade,” he said, as reported in El Caribe.
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Presidency
Diario Libre
Diario Libre
El Caribe
14 July 2021