Administrative Minister of the Presidency José Ramón Peralta says the Medina administration has done nothing to advance the process of renegotiating of the DR-CAFTA free trade agreement. Peralta made the remark during his participation in an event where he was honored for his contributions to the manufacturing free zone sector at the Centro de Innovación y Capacitación Profesional (Capex) in Santiago on Thursday, 31 January 2019.
“The government, I assure you and as I have said many times, has not done anything concerning the renegotiation with the Free Trade Agreement,” said Peralta. During the event, Peralta spoke of the fast-paced growth of the country in the past six years of the Medina administration. He said the Dominican Republic is the leader in growth in Latin America with 7%.
He said that all over the world, the private sector energizes the economy and is the great generator of wealth in national economies. He said that 87% of the wealth in the country has been generated by the private sector.
The event was sponsored by the Asociación Dominicana de Zonas Francas (Adozona), la Corporación Zona Franca Santiago (CZFS) y la Asociación de Empresas de Zonas Francas de Santiago (AEZFS).
Responding to the remark, Agriculture Minister Osmar Benitez said that while the local farm sector is not ready for tax-free imports of US farm produce, it needs to adhere to the decision of the government to not seek a revision. Benitez had backed those who sought to renegotiate the agreement in order to extend the years of protection to a selection of crops in the country.
The US is the big winner of DR-CAFTA. In its first 14 years, the Dominican Republic has increased its trade deficit with the US to US$1.78 billion.
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Hoy
El Dia
4 February 2019
