DOMINICAN PRESIDENT FERNANDEZ CALLS ON CONGRESS TO

UNCLAS SANTO DOMINGO 003391

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR WHA, WHA/CAR, WHA/AND, INR, EB/ESC/IEC/EPC;
NSC FOR SHANNON USCINCSO ALSO FOR POLAD;TREASURY FOR
OASIA-MAUREEN WAFER; USDA FOR FAS; USDOC FOR
4322/ITA/MAC/WH/CARIBBEAN BASIN DIVISION
USDOC FOR 3134/ITA/USFCS/RD/WH; DHS FOR CIS-CARLOS ITURREGUI

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ETRD PGOV DR CAFTA
SUBJECT: DOMINICAN PRESIDENT FERNANDEZ CALLS ON CONGRESS TO
PASS CAFTA NOW



1. During his weekly television address to the nation on
Sunday night June 26, President Leonel Fernandez argued
strongly in support of CAFTA, urging the Dominican Congress
to ratify the trade agreement as soon as possible for the
benefit of all Dominican people. The speech showed a clear
change in tone from previous administration support for the
agreement, when Fernandez supported the agreement more openly
abroad than here in the Dominican Republic. Fernandez,s
call for ratification without further delays for compensatory
legislation was a break from the administration,s
wait-and-see approach to date.


2. In a nod to special interests, Fernandez asked his
economic team to continue dialogue with agriculture and
business to find the best way for the country to make the
most of the agreement. The core of Fernandez,s speech,
however, was clearly the importance of ratifying CAFTA and
doing so promptly.


3. Citing familiar statistics, Fernandez pointed out that 85
percent of Dominican exports go to the United States and that
CAFTA would make duty free 99.5 percent of its industrial and
90 percent of its agricultural exports. Failing to ratify
CAFTA would not only deny the country these benefits but
could end up with the demise of benefits from the Caribbean
Basin Initiative and ultimately to losing much of the U.S.
market to the Central American countries that have already
signed on.


4. To drive home his call for ratification, Fernndez
commented that President Bush will be head of the upcoming
Summit of the Americas which will be held in Argentina this
November, a further reason for the U.S. President to do
everything possible to secure passage of implementing
legislation. He suggested that CAFTA ratification was
essential to secure other hemispheric trade agreements and
implied that the Dominican Republic would do well to be at
the heart of such events.

Ambassador on CAFTA


5. Hoy Newspaper carries an article today on Ambassador
Hertell,s Sunday television appearance on channel 13, noting
that the Ambassador sees the U.S. environment for CAFTA
passage as positive, with passage of implementing legislation
possible in early July. He rejects the contention that the
Dominican Republic needs to pass legislation granting special
benefits to certain sectors before the Dominican Congress
ratifies the agreement. The Ambassador is cited as saying
that if Dominicans are allowed to work without restrictions,
he believes the country will be extraordinarily successful.


6. This piece and others in our series can be consulted at
our SIPRNET site
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/santodomingo/
along with extensive other material.
HERTELL