He illicit trade of cigarettes Five years ago it represented 50% of the market in the Dominican Republic, a percentage that has been reduced by half, according to claims Ramon Perez Fermin, vice minister of internal trade of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and MSMEs.
It is up to this entity to combat the production and clandestine sale of this and other unregulated manufacturing products that put the lives of thousands at risk and that caused, in the case of adulterated alcoholthe death of more than 200 people between 2020 and 2021.
Pérez Fermín describes with amazement the atrocities he finds in the streets when they dismantle clandestine factories of medicationsalcohol and cigarettes that end up being consumed by the people who buy them, some knowingly and others innocently.
“We are going to reach our fourth Christmas without deaths from adulterated alcohol”Vice Minister of Internal Trade
Furthermore, it is a crime that affects health: he consumer You don’t know what you’re really buying.
“We have dismantled real clandestine industries. On one occasion, in the Northern region, we found three tons of raw material to manufacture tablets. We detected contraceptives, anesthetics and antihypertensives that were simple placebos,” said Pérez Fermín.
Success in controlling the crisis by adulterated alcohol drew attention to Senate of Brazilwhich last month awarded a recognition to the MICM.
-What was the merit that earned you recognition in the Brazilian Senate?
We were invited to share our experience from the crisis facing Brazil with the adulterated alcoholspecifically due to the presence of methanol in alcoholic beverages. More than a recognition formally, it was a recognition tacit to the work that the Dominican Republic has done. For us, as a small country, Brazil -a nation of enormous economic and demographic weight- considers us a reference, constitutes a merit in itself.
There we exposed the actions that we have deployed and that have given results. I believe that success rests on two pillars: first, political will to decisively confront this scourge and, second, coordinated action between institutions. There has been a real articulation of the State to close that gap.
On the issue of alcohol we established two work tables: one focused on the import of precursors used in the manufacture of adulterated alcohol and another dedicated to the internal market, that is, to clandestine production and marketing. We attacked both the top and the bottom of the chain, and the results came quickly.
-How much did the illicit cigarette trade represent?
When we arrive at MICMmore than 50% of the national market was illicit. Today we have reduced that illegality to less than half. To put it in context: the Minister of Industry and Commerce of Panama recently told us that in his country the illicit trade exceeds 90%. Here, however, we have brought it down to a fraction of what we found.
-What do you do to control the illicit fuel that enters the country without paying taxes?
That has been a historical evil, but fortunately we managed to control it with great efficiency. Before, absurd percentages of clandestine importation and marketing were handled, to the point of practically setting up a signas demonstrated by high-level judicial processes in the recent past.
“This is a law enforcement issue and the same treatment should be given to Chinese and Dominicans”Vice Minister of Internal Trade
Today we have reduced that gap to its minimum expression. I don’t say “zero” to avoid absolutisms, but the change is drastic.
-What was the percentage of illicit fuel?
There was talk of products with up to 30% illegality. Every time an item of this type enters the market, the country loses revenue that could be used for essential services, such as a better rainwater system or better salaries for the Police.
-How have you handled the issue of the so-called devil’s acid?
Pro Consumer issued a resolution to regulate its manufacturing and marketing, which has made it possible to correct distortions and significantly reduce uncontrolled production of that product.
30%
It was the percentage of illicit fuel that was sold in the DR, according to Vice Minister Pérez Fermín.
-Why did it take so long to bring Chinese businesses under the law?
The Dominican Republic is a country that is open to foreign investment. This is a country that today is a treasure, a paradise for receiving foreign capital with the same rules for everyone.
This is not an issue of ethnicity, this is not an issue of geographic location of your birth or your race. This is a compliance issue. law and the same treatment must be given to the Chinese, the Dominicans and anyone else who does not comply with the law.
This is a compliance issue. lawthis is a matter of rule of lawthis is an issue of equal conditions, this is an issue of respect for our regulatory framework.
Definitely, the country has a commitment to formal productionwith legal production, with marketing, with merchants who act subject to what our internal standard says.
We greatly value the foreign investment if and only if it is within compliance with the laws established in the country on equal terms for everyone.
When we arrived at the Ministry, deaths from methanol competed with those from COVID. In 2020 there were weeks in which more people died from adulterated alcohol than from coronavirus. Today we are about to reach our fourth Christmas without a single death from methanol. In human terms, that means four years without a mother crying to a child for drinking an adulterated drink. Four years without a family going into mourning because one of their own was poisoned at Easter. The traceability system – with QR code – has been essential. First it is in your hands, because with any smartphone you can collect that information. Second, you are having first-hand information from those who have the quality, authority and knowledge.
