The United States has decided the Dominican Republic should equally benefit from free trade status such as being considered with Central American nations, according to a communiqu? released from the White House yesterday. The White House statement reads:
?President Bush met today with President Mej?a of the Dominican Republic. They discussed cooperation in the fight against terrorism, bilateral relations broadly, and deepening of our trade relationship specifically. U.S. Trade Representative [Robert] Zoellick also met today with President Mej?a. Both agreed to intensify, in consultation with Congress, our joint efforts to determine the best way to connect our ongoing U.S.-Dominican trade dialogue with the U.S.-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) talks, so that all countries can move toward freer trade together.?
In the 45-minute meeting at the Oval Office, Mej?a met with President Bush, Secretary of State Colin Powell, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice and US Trade Representative, Robert Zoellick. Mej?a had met with Zoellick beforehand, and, apparently there was some serious discussion as to just how the DR would enter the CAFTA accords. Zoellick persisted to induce the DR to participate as part of a ?docking? agreement. Mej?a, however, insisted, according to El Caribe, that he could ?not accept this mechanism, since the country would be left out of the negotiations and would have to follow, in the end, an accord that had been drafted with regard to the interests of the governments and businesspeople of Central America.? President Mej?a appeared satisfied as he told the press that ?from here on, we do the grammar. The mechanical part: How it is going to work? I don?t care what they call it.?