SANTO DOMINGO.- President Leonel Fernandez will ask the United States Congress and the Government not to apply more taxes on cigars from Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Honduras and other Central America countries, said Agriculture minister Salvador Jiménez on Wednesday.

He said the chief executive will visit New York City, where he will meet with Representative Charles Rangel (D-New York) to explain the Dominican position to ahead of the application of new levies on cigars on the part of Congress.

He said Rangel has been very receptive to Dominican Republic’s position in view of intention the U.S. Government to apply a new tax on cigars. The official spoke after meeting with members of the House of Representatives, a visit aimed at convincing Congress not to approve new tax on products derived from tobacco.

He said the tax would have a negative effect on impoverished zones where tobacco is cultivated and the country would lose some 54,000 jobs and more than 100 million dollars. Most of the tobacco is produced in depressed provinces of the Dominican north and northwest.

The Agriculture chief said if the United States Senate passes the legislation tobacco exports would fall 30 percent and affect more than 100,000 medium and small tobacco producers.

Jiménez headed a Dominican agribusiness delegation to the U.S. together with United States Embassy agriculture attaché Jaime Rothschild and other personalities.