Dominican Trade Strong, but Licensing, IP Barriers Remain, Says Punke
U.S. industry is burdened by import licensing delays when shipping goods to the Dominican Republic, said U.S. Ambassador to the World Trade Organization Michael Punke in July 22 remarks at the country’s WTO trade policy review. The Dominican Republic also administers an agriculture “no-objection” permitting process that may not reflect genuine sanitary and phytosanitary concerns and “may be influenced by economic considerations,” he said (here). Punke also criticized intellectual property challenges in the Dominican Republic, such as delays in patent reviews and pharmaceutical marketing approvals, as well as pervasive counterfeit goods.
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Trade between the two countries is rising, however, topping off at $12.5 billion in 2014, said Punke. He applauded the Dominican Republic’s “focus on developing a regulatory environment that ensures a pro-competitive business climate,” and said the Dominican Republic -- Central American Free Trade Agreement continues to provide the foundation for strong bilateral trade. The Dominican government is also aiming to ratify the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement by the December ministerial in Nairobi, Punke noted.
The WTO review, the first done on the Dominican Republic since 2008, also praised the country’s “open economy.” Dominican officials have made strides in facilitating trade by implementing electronic import clearances and slashing other authorization requirements, the WTO said in its review (here). Since 2008, the country’s tariff policy hasn’t changed significantly, and tariffs remain “relatively low.” The Dominican Republic has also updated its customs regime by putting into effect a single customs declaration, an Integrated Customs Management System and an authorized economic operator program, the WTO said.