The Senate Commission on Industry, Commerce and Free Zones, favors the ratification of the DR-CAFTA agreement, which it considers a tool for the country’s economic development. El Caribe reports that Commission President Alejandro Santos explained that the favorable report on the FTA would be presented to the Senate during its next session, after 16 August, when the new term begins. Benefits would be lost if the DR does not ratify the FTA soon, he added. The US, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala have already ratified the agreement. Santos believes the FTA could be approved together with the tax reform.