DOMINICAN AGRICULTURE SECRETARY DEFENDS FREE TRADE

UNCLAS SANTO DOMINGO 006492

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR WHA/CAR; AGRICULTURE FOR FAS; DEPT/WHITE HOUSE
PASS USTR FOR A MALITO, S CRONIN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: DR EAGR ETRD PGOV PREL
SUBJECT: DOMINICAN AGRICULTURE SECRETARY DEFENDS FREE TRADE
AGREEMENT



1. On December 1 Dominican Secretary of Agriculture Amilcar
Romero replied to an anti-trade-agreement diatribe at a
national ceremony with a reasoned defense of the free trade
agreement with the United States and Central America (CAFTA)
and advised ranchers and farmers that agriculture will have
to move away from traditional protectionism to a more
competitive approach.


2. The Dominican Association of Ranchers and Farmers
(Asociacion Dominica de Hacendados y Agricultores or ADHA)
held its annual merit awards ceremony for outstanding
ranchers and farmers on December 1. The ADHA is the oldest
livestock and agricultural association in the Dominican
Republic (DR) and second in importance only to the Patronato
Nacional, which is strictly a livestock group. Dominican
President Leonel Fernandez and Secretary of Agriculture
Amlcar Romero both attended the event, as is traditional.
Embassy Agricultural Counselor attended the event as a
special guest, as is customary.


2. The two featured speakers were Csar Contreras, President
of ADHA, and Secretary of Agriculture Romero. (President
Fernandez did not give remarks and declined to speak to the
press as he was leaving the event.) ADHA President Contreras
spoke first and repeated several of the scare statistics of
the effects of the implementation of CAFTA -- 500,000 jobs
would be lost in the agricultural sector (100 percent of all
jobs in agriculture) and the country could never compete with
U.S. products benefiting from USD 40 billion in subsidies.
Contreras said that the Dominican agricultural sector lacked
the infrastructure and access to credit necessary to be
competitive. He called upon President Fernandez to defend
the Dominican agricultural sector and renegotiate the
agreement. Adamantly anti-CAFTA literature was placed at
every seat at the event: the bi-monthly publication of the
Dominican dairy association (APROLECHE) and a handout from
the Agricultural Emergency Committee (Comite de Emergencia
Agropecuaria --organized and funded principally by sugar and
fertilizer interests).


3. Agriculture Secretary Romero delivered a strong,
economically sound counter-message. In front of an audience
that had just heard that the free trade agreement would be
the death of the Dominican agricultural sector, he gave a
reasoned and moderate speech, commenting that the old ways of
protecting producers through quotas, tariffs, and customs
restrictions were things of the past and that structural
change was necessary in the Dominican agricultural sector to
make it more competitive. Romero acknowledged the
apprehension in the agricultural sector with respect to the
free trade agreement. He emphasized, however, that the
country cannot remain isolated and agriculture must turn
weaknesses into strengths. The message he was delivering,
with President Fernandez seated beside him, was that the DR
has to pass the FTA and then make the structural changes in
the agricultural sector necessary to compete in the world
economy.

Comment


4. It took a lot of courage for the Secretary to give this
speech to an audience that had just given a resounding
applause to President Contreras,s anti-FTA remarks.
Although President Fernandez did not take an active role in
the event, his presence was a silent endorsement of the
content of Secretary Romero,s speech.
HERTELL