President Hipolito Mejia said yesterday that he is unsure whether he will sign the DR?s Free Trade Agreement with the United States or not. These comments were made during a visit to the Santo Domingo Zoo where the President was on hand to inaugurate several new roads, a cage for Siberian bears left behind by a circus and various other renovations.
Mejia had criticism for the farming and agricultural sectors, who want changes to be made to the negotiated DRFTA, saying that they are voicing these demands ?through the newspapers and that is not correct.? Mejia continued: ?I will not receive that request, it has to be made personally? The FTA is a great thing for the country, but nobody is going to tailor a custom-made suit for each interest group. That is not possible. The country has to be above the individual interests.? Mejia supported all efforts in the pursuit of the accord with the US.
Two private sugar producers are seeking the support of the government to pressure the US to make changes in the FTA prior to its approval. There are reports that the DRFTA may be passed by the US Congress in August, leaving it up to the DR?s Congress to pass it subsequently.
Local sugar producers complain they will not be able to compete with subsidized US imports. In the past, private sugar producers have been able to import sugar to combat scarcities and to sell in the Dominican market, yielding significant profits. Sugar is sold here at a much higher price than on international markets, affecting consumers and those that use sugar as an input material in their production. The FTA would gradually liberalize the sugar import market benefiting these sectors.
Hugo Rivera, the deputy chief negotiator for the DRFTA, says the agreement does not directly affect refined sugar imports. He says it authorizes corn syrup imports, which represents only 16% of the sugar imports and is primarily used by juice manufacturers. Furthermore, in an interview with El Caribe on 22 July, he explained that there is a seven-year waiting period prior to the sugar producers having to face competition from cheaper US imports. Rivera told El Caribe that the negotiations are now closed and all that is needed is for President Mejia to sign the treaty in the first or second week of August.