US Tariffs Threaten Dominican Export Competitiveness, Business Leaders Warn

Dominican exports to the United States face a significant hurdle with a new 12.5% tariff, potentially impacting the nation's competitiveness, according to Celso Juan Marranzini, president of the National Council of Private Enterprise (Conep).

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All the effects will be seen in the medium and long term; in the short term they are not seen, exports have continued to grow. It is true that gold has also contributed a lot to export growth due to price and reactivation, but definitely this is a matter of utmost importance for our country.

Marranzini cautioned that while the short-term effects are not yet apparent, with exports continuing to grow partly due to gold prices and reactivation, the tariffs pose a threat in the medium and long term. He stressed the importance of perseverance in addressing the issue to avoid a negative impact on the country's export capacity.

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The issue is to persevere, keep persevering, because they say that he who perseveres triumphs, and in this matter we must triumph, because otherwise it will have a negative impact on our ability to export to the United States in the medium and long term.

Minister of Finance and Economy Magín Díaz assured that authorities are working diligently to improve the situation and that companies are adapting to the new regulations. Díaz expressed optimism about reaching an agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce for tariff reductions. Marranzini concurred, acknowledging the government's diligent efforts since the tariffs were imposed over a year ago as part of a global U.S. policy affecting numerous countries.

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We are in permanent contact with the United States Department of Commerce and I am optimistic that we can reach an agreement to reduce the tariffs.

The new tariffs, implemented on July 24, affect a portion of Dominican products entering the U.S. market. This measure places the Dominican Republic at a disadvantage compared to Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, fellow DR-Cafta partners who face a lower 10% tariff, despite similar production costs in their free trade zones.

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Since this began more than a year ago, (the Government) has been very diligently addressing it, obviously, in a global imposition. The United States has placed this on a large number of countries.