Pacific trade pact hurts local garment exports the most, study says

Santo Domingo.- Garments top the list of 13 Dominicanexport products that would be most affected in the US market by competitionfrom the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TTP) countries, according to an analysis bythe Dominican trade think tank, IADG.

The list also includes products and plastic packaging,jewelry, footwear and parts and fresh and processed foods, said researcher PavelIsa, who headed the study.

During the presentation at the Santo Domingo TechnologicalInstitute (Intec), Isa said the export products’ annual average value tops US$1.5billion, or 34% of total exports of goods to the US market from 2012 to 2014,and 17% of all Dominican exports.

“Garments will account for 88% of the expected increase inexports from TTP countries. Dominican Republic’s main competitors in textileswould be Vietnam and Malaysia,” the economist said.

The analysis predicts that just as a result of tariff rollback,exports from TTP countries of those products to the US market would jump by US$432million (31%), from US$1.38 billion to US$1.8 billion.

He said the research found evidence that the TPP’s impact willnot jeopardize the Dominican Republic severely, but “there’s always will be minorbut negative effects.”