Several representatives of the Dominican Federation of Merchants (FDC) held a meeting with the Minister of Industry and Commerce, Eduardo Sanz Lovatónwith the aim of discussing issues that they consider affect organized commerce, such as Law 98-25 about Comprehensive Management and Co-processing of Solid Waste, as well as the unfair competition of the pharmacy and store chains in Chinese capital.
Law 98-25 – enacted by the Executive Branch on December 15, 2025 to modify law 225-20 – updates the amounts of mandatory special contributionranging from 3,000 pesos to 675,000 pesos annually depending on the size of the company, with the objective of creating a fund with these resources to mitigate the negative effects of the current disposal of solid waste.
The president of the Dominican Federation of Merchants (CDF), Ivan Garciasaid that the minister promised to be mediator between the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), government authorities and legislators, in order to reach solutions that help the sector continue to grow and contribute development to the country.
García expressed confidence that the current management of the ministry will continue its support to the sector commerce, “as it was carried out (Sanz Lovaton) in the General Directorate of Customs“.
“We consider successful the meeting and, within a period of 15 days, we trust that the talks about him article 36 of the Law 98-25 so that the micro, small and medium enterprises of the country can continue with the mandatory voluntary contribution according to the capacity of the sector,” García stressed.
He remembered that the MSME sector has an important weight within the Dominican economy, representing 98.7% of the national productive apparatus and being the largest employer of the country.
unfair competition
On topics related to unfair competition with the pharmacy sectorhe FDC undertook to provide all the information about this situation, so that the MICM can intervene on this topic.
As for the chinese shopsthe merchants They hope that the meetings with the Minister of Finance and Economy will continue, Magin Diaz; the director of Customs, Nelson Arroyo and the director of Internal Taxes (DGII), Pedro Urrutia, as well as other institutions that make up the desk which began last December in this regard.
From the FDC In addition to García, the general secretary, Félix Rodríguez, attended the meeting; the national vice president, Raymond Ulloa; the vice president of the Supermarkets sector, Pablo Adon; and the vice president of the Northeast region, Juan María García.
In addition, were present the representative of the Dominican Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (Adpyme), Jenny Rubiera; the representative of the Dominican Confederation of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (Codopyme), Isabel Puig; the representative of the retail sector, Ricardo Rosario; and the representative of the Pharmacy Union, Carlos Berges.
