Haiti bans disrespect Dominican industry, exporters say

Santo Domingo.- Dominican exporters say the new round of bans on Dominican products marketed in Haiti disrespects the local industry which exports finished goods which markets such as the U.S., Europe and Japan demand.

Dominican Exporters Association (Adoexpo) president Kai Schoenhals and vice president Gabriel Roig on Tuesday said the Haitian neighbors should note that Dominican Republic has been a country of solidarity with them and has supported president Michel Martelly.

Schoenhals said local industrialists don’t object Haiti’s rearranging of its "house" or that it raises customs tariffs which he affirms is no higher than 10%. He acknowledged that it’s a very low percentage but questions its transparency and that Port-au-Prince has yet to accept offers for talks.

The business leader said Haiti has no right to Dominican Republic’s good name, image or products, to favor an economic interest. "There’s great uncertainty (in Haiti), because if you see the list of products exported over there, you see that Haiti’s government is taking the five or six winners one by one. And there are others that make you think: if they applied it to them, the next ones will be us."

He cited a member of Adoexpo, a plastics-maker who said they don’t know what will happen with Haiti, and regrets that despite the local industry complies with the additive "oxo" to make it ‘biodegradable’, Haiti says the ban will hold regardless of what the product contains.

Shoenhals, quoted by Listin Diario, noted however that Haiti has the right to review its tariffs, because it needs to stop relying on NGOs and international aid.