Listin Diario’s lead story this morning says that importers have decided to take pressure off the exchange market by putting the purchase of US dollars on hold, until the exchange rate is stabilized. Domingo Espinal Collado of the Dominican Importers and Warehouse Owners’ Association (ADAI) told the newspaper that the importers are in the process of declaring a “recess” and that for the last two weeks they have reduced their acquisition of US currency. In the last 12 months, explained Espinal Collado, these businesses have lost 65% of their working capital. He accused the government of “telling lie after lie” to the Dominican people, and blamed this for undermining confidence in the economy. He predicted a “major shortage” in basic consumer goods over the next few days if the exchange rate is not stabilized. This market’s volatility is a big obstacle to doing business, according to Espinal Collado, who believes that the apparent shortage of dollars is an illusion. “There are plenty of dollars, the trouble is that those who control them are also the owners of the country’s economic vaults,” he says. In his “Un Chin” column, Listin Diario commentator Carlos Marquez says that this voluntary measure is a reflection of the sector’s desperation in reaction to the widespread speculation on the foreign currency market. The government has to respond to the importers’ clamors, concludes Marquez, and in the meantime we all have to “tighten our belts.” The writer can be contacted on carlosmarquez@listin.com.do