Diario Libre reports that the Chamber of Deputies passed a bill establishing zero taxes on the import of raw materials, equipment and machinery for the leather goods industry which produces shoes, belts, bags and suitcases. Legislators Victor Garcia Sued, Jose Rijo, Octavio Lister and Juan Rafael Taveras pushed for the bill saying there is an incredible disproportion between facilities granted to importers and those offered to local industries. Garcia Sued says that 15 years ago this sector employed 45,000 people, and today there are barely 3,000 jobs left.
