The President of the Republic, Luis Abinader, announced this Monday night that the government will subsidize the fuels when the price of a barrel of Petroleum from Texas, a benchmark in the country, remains between US$85 and US$115 a barrel.
He explained that any price movement above 115 dollars per barrel will be transferred to domestic prices in the country, without the inclusion of the ad-valorem tax in their calculation. The barrel of crude oil closed today at US$119.40.
He said that the objective of the measure is to keep the cost of fuel at the same level as on March 4.
“The Government will maintain the internal prices of hydrocarbons unchanged at the level of March 4”DR President
The president made the announcement during a speech he addressed to the nation.
March 4 was the date on which the costs of hydrocarbons in the country were increased, after remaining frozen for several weeks.
He explained that by assuming that subsidythe government will continue “assuming a permanent minimum fiscal sacrifice of at least between RD$600 and RD$1,000 million per week, which would represent approximately between RD$2,400 and RD$4,000 million per month, or what is the same, between RD$9.9,600 million and RD$16,000 million during its 4 months of application.
He explained that the crisis caused by the war in Russia and Ukraine has had negative effects on the world economy, including that of the Dominican Republic, and that the government Dominican has been looking for alternatives to deal with the situation.
“That is why we are in direct and constant contact with the leadership of business associations, producers, wholesalers, retailers, merchants and importers, to promote measures that safeguard the economy of the most dispossessed and prevent the middle class from being further harmed while we overcome this price crisis caused by external factors”.
