NewsWhore
05-26-2006, 04:10 PM
Former chief of the Dominican negotiating team for the DR-CAFTA agreement, Sonia Guzman de Hernandez is warning that the Dominican Republic cannot modify Law 173. If it does so, she says, the country would lose the rights established in favor of agents and representatives of foreign companies and brands. Guzman, as reported in Hoy, said that in DR-CAFTA it was clearly established that none of the laws in effect, including Law 173, could be touched, so she does not understand why there is talk about this issue.
The comment comes about because the association that links warehouse owners and importers has asked the Dominican government to not allow the country to lose the concession that was made during the negotiations that resulted in the DR-CAFTA agreement.
Guzman said that on the trade front the DR is losing ground to Central America. She mentioned that the country used to be the US's fifth trading partner, but is now in the 6th place. She also deplored the fact that the DR did not take advantage of US$500 million in donations and multilateral organization funding that could have been used to prepare for the implementation of DR-CAFTA. She said Central American countries have been prompt to access these funds. She stressed that while the DR delays the approval of DR-CAFTA, Central American countries will take the lead to their advantage. The DR has postponed implementing DR-CAFTA until July 2006, but there are doubts about whether the country will actually be ready by that date.
Link To Original Article (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#3)
The comment comes about because the association that links warehouse owners and importers has asked the Dominican government to not allow the country to lose the concession that was made during the negotiations that resulted in the DR-CAFTA agreement.
Guzman said that on the trade front the DR is losing ground to Central America. She mentioned that the country used to be the US's fifth trading partner, but is now in the 6th place. She also deplored the fact that the DR did not take advantage of US$500 million in donations and multilateral organization funding that could have been used to prepare for the implementation of DR-CAFTA. She said Central American countries have been prompt to access these funds. She stressed that while the DR delays the approval of DR-CAFTA, Central American countries will take the lead to their advantage. The DR has postponed implementing DR-CAFTA until July 2006, but there are doubts about whether the country will actually be ready by that date.
Link To Original Article (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#3)