Dominican Republic´s many pacts ´expose´ industry to traps

Santo Domingo.- DominicanRepublic´s liberalized trade from five agreements signed with 49 countries exposedomestic industry to unfair practices and excessive competition from imports, Industryand Commerce minister José del Castillo warned Monday.

The official, speaking inthe third Latin American Dialogue on Corrective Trade Management that willconclude Wednesday, said that’s why the country´s trade agreements feature chapterson trade defense instruments, as well as World Trade Organization (WTO) agreementswhich establish mechanisms "to protect trade in particular circumstances withspecific products and authorize the adoption of trade correction and defensemeasures."

Dominican Republic has hadduring the last seven years the Regulatory Commission on Unfair Trade Practicesand Safeguard Measures, an organization which its president, Ivan Gatón affirms,has applied safeguard or anti-dumping measures on imports of toilets and sinks(China) socks and stockings (also China), tubular fabric and polypropylene bags(Central America) and rebar (Spain and Turkey).

Dumping occurs whengoods are imported and sold at a very low price, even below production cost, totake over the market.

Gatón said when animporter does so they displace local industry, and carry it out until they haveto shutter, leading to job losses.

The safeguard measures,however, are used to restrict imports of a product to protect local industry.