Dominican Rep. merchants: there’s no one in Haiti to talk to

Santo Domingo.- Two deputies from border towns denounced Wednesday that big Haitian monopolies have the most to gain from the ban on the entry of domestic products to that country and asked the Dominican government to deal with the problem, even if “there’s no one in Haiti to talk to.”

Opposition party (PRM) lawmaker Israel Terrero, and ruling party (PLD) deputy Francisco Bautista agreed that the measure supported by Haitian merchants harms consumers on both sides of the border.

Terrero (Dajabon) said particular interests in Haiti benefit from the ban on 21 products of Dominican origin. “Obviously this is due to a decision of particular interests that are taking advantage of preventing Haitians from entering these types of goods from the Dominican Republic.”

Eggs, farm products and flours figure among the Dominican products prevented from entering Haiti.

For his part, Bautista (Elias Piña-west), said the ban on Dominican products is a measure implemented by Haiti’s most reactionary commercial sectors.

He noted that only rich Haitians continue to receive Dominican products by plane and by boat, “that is, Dominican products continue to arrive, for which the rich of that nation lack nothing.”

“The Haitian authorities have a problem because they don’t comply with their international commitments. Right now there’s no one in Haiti to talk to, because the mixed commissions do-not work and I propose that it be done at the highest level of governments to solve the problem,” Bautista said.