Caricom agreement will be reviewed

[NewsWhore]

Foreign Relations Minister Carlos Morales Troncoso has announced that the free trade agreement with the Caribbean Community (Caricom) is to be reviewed. The DR signed the agreement with the 14 English-speaking Caribbean nations in 2001 but many business sectors and businesspeople complain that that country is not ready to advance on the treaty and enter the area of services with Caricom. Morales said that the Caricom nations agree that the agreement should be reviewed. Morales added that this review of the agreement does not represent a retrograde step in the EPA (Economic Partnership Agreements) agreements since there are scheduled meetings for next week (in Belize) and for 1 and 2 February (Montego Bay, Jamaica) to discuss a schedule for the year. Morales observed that the free trade agreements between the 14 Caricom nations are very specialized and don't necessarily mesh with the Dominican Republic's structure. Although Morales made no reference to this, the talk of a review could be in response to the letter sent by Asociacion de Industriales de Herrera head Jesus Moreno last week, pointing out the fact that the agreement was signed five years ago but that no progress had been made with Caricom. In the letter, Moreno also pointed out that many of the rules stipulated under the agreement with Caricom had not been observed.

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