Senators Eddy Mateo Vasquez of Barahona and Rosa Sonia Mateo of Dajabon said yesterday that the political turmoil that prevails in Haiti is what has prevented a true and necessary free trade agreement from being implemented that would put an end to the temporary bilateral trade bans, thus promoting normalized trade relations between Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
In separate statements, both legislators from the border provinces agreed that once the process of regularization of foreigners ends, the country should appeal to the World Trade Organization (WTO) to take the lead in negotiating a formal free trade agreement between Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
Senator Vasquez of Barahona said that the all too frequent use of blackmail to prevent bilateral trade creates permanent instability in the relations between the two nations.
Haiti is the second largest market for Dominican produce, but exporters suffer from frequent and capricious decrees from Haitian authorities that interrupt the regular flow of trade. However, even when legal trade is banned, goods are carried informally across through unregulated trade points.