Brits, Dominicans fight illicit liquors, cigarettes jointly

London.- The Intellectual Property Office of the United Kingdom and the Scotch Whiskey Association are willing to help Dominican authorities fight the smuggling of alcohol and cigarettes in the country.

Representatives of both institutions, Bill Russel and Adam Bowie respectively, met Mon. as part of the annual Dominican Week in the UK, with Dominican liquor and cigarette sector representatives as well as with directors of the British Chamber of Commerce (BRITCHAM) ), where the latter expressed concern with the growing illegal trade in those products in the Caribbean country.

It was learned that smuggling accounts for 65% of illegal trade,15% to incomplete declaration and 12% to counterfeit products in the Dominican Republic, which leads to over US$260.0 million in lost revenue per year .

British Chamber of Commerce president Leonel Melo and Dominican Wines and Spirits Importers Association director Manuel Cabral said they’ll bring the authorities of the two countries closer together to work on the issue.

“The public-private partnership is key to combating this problem and the government of the United Kingdom can share the best practices with the Dominican government on how they have worked in other markets and have fought against unregulated production and the illegal trade of liquors and cigarettes,” Melo said after the meeting