Federico Cuello, former DR ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO), writes today in the editorial pages of El Caribe newspaper on the questionable coherence in government policies. To garner more revenues, he explains, the government increased taxes on imports. With imports notably more expensive, Dominicans began buying less foreign goods, and government revenues on imports declined US$795 million this year. To compensate for the government’s distancing itself from Latin American and Caribbean trade negotiations with the United States, the DR signed a joint statement with Brazil on 18 November that commits the country to uphold Brazil’s position before the FTAA and WTO negotiations. Cuello, nevertheless, mentions that Dominican Ambassador to the US Hugo Guiliani insists that the country must “enter the empire” and endorses commitments aligned with US mandates and which would differ from those reached if the commitment signed with Brazil is to be upheld. Cuello emphasizes that the phrase “to enter the empire” translates into reaching the FTAA on the terms that are in the best interest of the US. “Those interests, which are entirely legitimate, should not prevail over those Dominican diplomats should defend,” he says. Furthermore, Cuello feels these negotiations should inherently imply a willingness to fulfill what is agreed upon. He said there has not been coherence in what was negotiated with Central America, for example, where import taxes have been placed on the trade between the countries after agreeing to lift all duties. Cuello reproaches the fact that the country has not paid the small amounts due for legal advisory services to the WTO, leaving the country without the needed technical assistance for a dignified defense. “We lack credible economic policies. We do not defend the national interest. We do not have a state of law. Is that coherent?” he criticizes.