[DR1] Government missions unsuccessful

[NewsWhore]

The government delegation that traveled to Washington yesterday to discuss the issues at the center of the postponement of the DR-CAFTA agreement with the US and Central America has traveled with the same mission three times this year. Diario Libre reports that the Dominican negotiators have not been able to detail points of divergence that the US Trade Representative Office has stated make it unacceptable to recommend that President George W. Bush give the go ahead for the DR to enter the treaty. The previous missions took place on 28 February and 24 May. The members of the current mission have not been disclosed by the Industry and Commerce Minister Francisco Javier Castillo, but Diario Libre has found out that it is led by the Director of the Ministry's Foreign Trade Department, Vilma Arbaje, and includes Yahaira Sosa, Alberto Duran and Karina Alcantara. From news reports, the main obstacles to the DR's entry into DR-CAFTA seems to be the requirement to modify Law 173 about representatives of Foreign Brands, the modification of Law 65-01 on Copyrights and Law 20-01 on Industrial Property. Also, the law to regulate government purchasing has still not been passed.

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