Exports could close the 2018 in US $ 11 one billion dollars

SANTO DOMINGO. At the end of 2018, Dominican exports could exceed 11 billion dollars, about one billion and almost 9% above those registered in 2017. This was predicted by the Dominican Observatory of International Trade (ODCI) in its quarterly publication “Panorama of Foreign Trade ”corresponding to the month of November.

The organization, which is made up of nine institutions and directed by the economist and research professor of the Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC) Pavel Isa Contreras, pointed out that it is a high growth, almost three times higher than the annual average observed between 2012 and 2017, and that it is likely to be driven by the recent economic expansion in the United States.

Based on data from the Central Bank, the ODCI highlighted that the products and activities that led the growth of sales abroad were electrical products from free zones and manufactured products from domestic industry. During the first nine months of the year, both product groups accounted for 60% of all growth. Electrical products registered an expansion of about 240 million dollars or 37% compared to January-September 2017, and national manufactures did so by 237 million dollars or 14.5%
Other items that contributed significantly to this growth were exports of medical equipment and cigarettes from the free zones, and those of agricultural products.

The ODCI's “Foreign Trade Overview” also explains and discusses the amendments to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA or NAFTA) that the United States, Canada and Mexico negotiated. He argues that the changes did not significantly transform the agreement, but indicates that the United States managed to modify rules for the trade of specific products that have an important weight in trade between the three countries, especially for the trade of automobiles and their parts. and dairy products.

In both cases, the amendments are intended to benefit US producers. In addition, the agreement was modernized with the inclusion of electronic commerce, SMEs and other issues.

ODCI is a permanent academic-institutional space for research, capacity building, service provision and strategic communication on issues related to foreign trade and its socio-economic, 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 Customs Directorate (DGA), the Administration and Trade Treaties Directorate (DICOEX) of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and MSMEs (MICM) and the National Council of Export Free Zones (CNZFE) .