SANTO DOMINGO.- The Dominican Congress must urgently pass the Competitiveness Law  for consumers to benefit from the reduction in the prices of basic products, as part of the DR-CAFTA trade pact’s elimination of tariffs.

National Competitiveness Council director Andrés Vanderhorst made the request while speaking with homemakers and workers in the barrio Cristo Rey, invited by the Foundation Labor Vision to explain why DR-CAFTA is a catalyst to competitiveness.

He said the prices of basic necessity products haven’t fallen due to the Dominican economy’s induced costs and because of the oligopolies that control some areas. "With the Competition law it will be possible to have articles at lower prices. The delay in the approval of that legislation is one of factors that have directly influenced on the fact that prices haven’t been lowered after the DR-CAFTA took effect.”

Vanderhorst said the State "must also reduce the costs of the economy, such as energy, which has become a great task that is being confronted by the central Government."

He said if Government services become more efficient it could positively impact the costs and lead to reduced prices in basic articles.