The Association of Industries of the Dominican Republic (AIRD) expressed its opposition to the bill of the Executive Power to temporarily establish a 0% tariff rate on the importation of a series of products of the basic basket, to face the inflation generated by the international rises in fuels and other goods.
In a communication addressed to the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Alfredo Pacheco, the president of the AIRD, Celso Juan Marranzini, expressed the position of the Dominican industrial sector regarding the bill that levies a zero rate on the customs tariff to 63 goods of the basic basket, which was submitted last Friday, March 11, 2022 by the Executive Power before that honorable legislative chamber. He expresses that “it is necessary to recognize that the inflation derived from the international situation that we are experiencing affects us and worries us all Dominicans, and that in this situation any solution should not cause winners and losers.” “We understand that the approval of the bill does not guarantee a reduction in the prices of the basic basket, and on the contrary, it will significantly affect the thousands of rural producers, the production companies, the agribusinesses, other industries and companies that they supply supplies and services, as well as the more than 80,000 grocery stores, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) that participate in the marketing chain of these products”.
Marranzini highlights in his communication that “currently imports of the products proposed in the bill come mostly from the United States at a zero rate, one of the world’s main exporters of these products, thanks to DR-CAFTA. Specifically, the elimination of tariffs to countries with which we do not have free trade agreements will cause domestic producers to be abruptly affected by imports from some countries that practice dumping and other unfair trade practices.
