No new trade pacts until old ones are reviewed: Regional business leader

Santo Domingo.- Inter-American BusinessesAssociation (Asine) president Leonel Castellanos on Monday said the DominicanRepublic must reformulate its foreign trade policy in the heels of what he callsunfavorable results from the free trade agreements inked with other CentralAmerican and Caribbean nations.

He supports the positon by the HainaIndustries and Companies Association, which opposes entering into more freetrade pacts until the country reviews those it already signed.

Castellanos, interviewed bynewspaper Hoy, said Dominican Republic’s trade balance is still unfavorable becausethe country lacks a foreign trade policy that promotes exports and makes productivesectors competitive compared with its rivals, despite similar economies.

He said it’s a "shame" thecountry has a trade deficit with other nations despite having posted thehighest economic growth in the Latin American region. "That forces us toexamine ourselves within."

Among the factors he says makethe country uncompetitive the business leader listed problems of transport, a failed electricity service,expensive fuels, obsolete Labor Code and the lack of regulation to verify thequality of products entering the country.