The WTO building in Geneva, Switzerland.
SANTO DOMINGO, DR-- complaint against Haiti could be lodged with the World Trade Organization (WTO). The Dominican Republic Association of Exporters Adoexpo said the new fee of about US $800 imposed by the Haitian authorities for the verification of Dominican Republic (DR) goods exported that pass through Haitian customs, represents an exorbitant cost.
Adoexpo President Elizabeth Mena, who expressed the concern of the export sector, called on the Ministry of External Relations, ProDominicana, the General Directorate of Customs, the General Directorate of Taxes and other official institutions related to this issue to seek an equitable solution to this new measure of the Haitian government, which “constitutes a hard blow for the competitiveness of the country.”
For her part, Adoexpo Executive Vice-President Odile Miniño explained that these verifications should not be charged to exporters as they are excessive and not comparable to the average charged for the inspection of containers in other countries.
Reacting from abroad to this new fee, DR economist Luis Manuel Piantini, former representative of the DR before the WTO, believes it is possible to bring the case of Haiti to the WTO for having effected this excessive advance on trade between the two nations. He believes that in this case, a Haitian elite benefits from these taxes, to the detriment of the Haitian population. ~ Haiti Libre ~
