Exports grew more than expected in the second half of 2019
SANTO DOMINGO. - The exports they grew more than expected during the 2019 second quarter, and could close at the end of the year reaching 11,500 million, according to estimates of Dominican Observatory of International Trade (ODCI).
The estimates were offered by that entity in its quarterly publication Foreign Trade Panorama No. 6 corresponding to the October-December 2019 period. “Although this is a moderate growth and far from what is necessary, this rate is more than double that observed until September ”, notes the ODCI, which is based in the Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC).
The ODCI, directed by Pavel Isa Contreras, economist and research professor of INTEC, indicates that based on most recent data published by the General Directorate of Customs (DGA) and the central bank, national exports they were the ones that grew the most and could have reached 5,070 million, for a 8.3% growth compared to 2018. Those in free zones could have grown by 3.1% to reach 6,423 million, equivalent to 56% of total exports.
Likewise, as observed since mid-year, in 2019 imports stagnated, partly as a result of the slowdown in growth, the reduction in the price of oil and the lower growth of imports from free zones. The ODCI estimates that in 2019 total imports closed at 20,458 million dollars and that, as a result, the trade deficit barely changed in that year. It was just under 9 billion dollars, about 300 million less than in 2018.
Similarly, until October, exports of free zones to the United States and Europe of the six main subsectors of activity grew by 3.4% and 19%, respectively, according to data provided by the National Council of Export Free Zones ( CNZFE) in an article featured in this publication. The CNZFE highlighted the growth of exports of textile clothing, footwear and medical devices, as well as tobacco and electronic products.
El Foreign Trade Panorama No. 6 also publishes a article by Fantino Polanco, lawyer and professor in commercial policy and foreign trade law, in which he explains what it is and risks and consequences of the so-called “Appellate Body” of the World Trade Organization (WTO). This implies, Polanco warns, a significant paralysis of the activities of the WTO as a body for the settlement of trade disputes. Polanco also discusses what are the alternatives to get out of the cumbersome situation that threatens to "return to the law of the jungle" in commercial matters.
Finally, the publication includes an article authored by José María Munné, Karina Mañón and Marcelo Salazar of the Administration of International Trade Agreements and Treaties Administration (DICOEX) of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MICM) in which they collect the results of a study that evaluates 11 years of implementation of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA or EPA) between CARIFORO countries and those of the European Union (EU).
The study reveals that the Dominican Republic is the Caribbean country that has benefited most from the agreement and one of the six in the region that has fulfilled its commitments. The study gives an account of budgetary, commercial and production gains, as well as of the potential benefits for the country if all countries comply with the agreement.
The ODCI is a permanent academic-institutional space for research, capacity building, service delivery and strategic communication on issues related to foreign trade and its socioeconomic, national and regional impacts. It is made up of business associations such as the National Council of Private Enterprise (CONEP), the Association of Industries of the Dominican Republic (AIRD), the Dominican Association of Free Zones (ADOZONA) and the American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAMDR), as well as Public institutions linked to international trade such as the General Directorate of Customs (DGA), the Directorate of Administration and Commercial Treaties (DICOEX) of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and MSMEs (MICM) and the National Council of Export Free Zones (CNZFE) , and INTEC as an academic ally.
Download the Foreign Trade Panorama at: https://odci.org.do/documentos/panorama/