Customs Agency head Eduardo Sanz Lovaton celebrates the passing of new logistics legislation. The Logistics Centers, Logistics Operating Enterprises and Logistics Hubs Bill passed in Congress on Monday, 22 July 2024 and now moves to the Presidency for enactment.
In an interview with El Caribe-CDN37, he described the logistics operations here as the new gold export and highlighted the impact of these for the future of the country. The mention of gold is because gold has for years been the star revenue-producing Dominican export. Mining, nevertheless, has significant negative impacts on the environment.
Sanz Lovaton highlighted the logistics sector is currently thriving, marking a pivotal time for the country’s economy.
“Logistics is akin to what many of us think of tourism today, and President Luis Abinader was among the first to grasp this,” said Sanz Lovatón in the interview. “That’s why we now have a new General Customs Law and a new Maritime Trade Law. Soon, we’ll also introduce the new Law on Logistics Centers. These initiatives aim to attract diverse investments—from those looking to assemble their goods in our country.”
In his remarks, Sanz Lovatón underscored that logistics encompasses the planning, management, and execution of transportation, storage, and distribution of goods and services from origin to final destination. This includes land, sea, and air transport, inventory management, order processing, and supply chain management.
“With improved logistics infrastructure such as ports, airports, roads, and distribution centers, coupled with new legislation like the General Customs Law and Maritime Trade Law, the Dominican Republic is poised to become a strategic regional logistics hub,” he emphasized. “This will draw significant investments and companies interested in manufacturing and distributing products from our shores, much like tourism has been a cornerstone of our economy.”
Highlighting current trends, Sanz Lovatón noted, “Today, the Dominican Republic benefits from extensive air connectivity to Europe, surpassing Brazil and Chile to the United States. This unexpected advantage, revealed through a joint statistical study with the American Chamber of Commerce, underscores our position in global logistics.”
He added: “The recent passage of legislation regulating logistics centers by the Chamber of Deputies promises to spur substantial investment in this sector. Currently, every free zone warehouse is occupied—a testament to the sector’s vitality.”
The logistics scheme is launching the Dominican Republic as a reshipment center in the region, as the country takes advantage of its geographical location and investments in air and maritime ports. Sanz Lovaton also highlighted the thousands of quality jobs now being created in the logistics sector nationwide.
The newly passed logistics bill strengthens the regulation of a model that has been operating in the country since 2015, when then President Danilo Medina issued Decree No. 262-15. The new logistics bill seeks to provide juridical guarantees to investors that over the past years installed themselves operating under the provisions of that Decree No 262-15.
The National Development Strategy Law calls for converting the Dominican Republic into a regional logistics center to take advantage of its geographic location and calls for the country to develop the legal framework to promote international logistics services.
Read more in Spanish:
El Caribe
Decree 262-15
DGII
Law 168-21
Cluster of Logistics Companies
Cluster of Logistics Companies
24 July 2024