The MPD denounced this Sunday the government’s decision to “subordinate” economic policy to the interests of the United States and criticized the repeal of the decree that protected rice producers. The communist organization qualified the measure as harmful to the production of the cereal of massive consumption in the Dominican Republic.
The eliminated regulation and its impact
Decree 693-24, signed by President Luis Abinader in 2024, established a 20% tariff on rice imports within the quota set by the World Trade Organization (WTO) and a 99% tariff for quantities exceeding that limit. In addition, it contemplated a preferential quota of 23,300 metric tons of rice from the United States that could enter the country free of tariffs, while imports outside that quota were subject to a 99% tax.
The elimination of this regulation, according to the MPD, “leaves the Dominican countryside unprotected and exposed to unfair and inequitable competition against subsidized rice from the US market”. The organization added that US market rice is financed by US authorities, which, according to producers, generates an unfair competition.
Government response
President Abinader has assured that Dominican rice producers will not be left behind and that the country maintains the authority to regulate the entry of agricultural products through phytosanitary and zoosanitary measures, independently of the elimination of the decree. According to his speech, the government will continue to protect the interests of local rice production.
Context of the DR-CAFTA
The commercial agreement between the United States, Central America, and the Dominican Republic (DR-CAFTA) establishes the entry of US rice into the country free of tariffs. However, decree 693-24 sought to balance that entry with safeguards for local rice production. With its elimination, the MPD argues that the WTO regulation is undermined and that the country is forced to comply with the agreement’s requirements without considering the protection of its agricultural sector.
Reactions from the rice sector
Rice producers have expressed their concern about the arrival of imported products and the possible bankruptcy of many of them. In light of the elimination of the decree, the MPD and the rice sector warn that unfair competition can affect the stability of the rural economy and food security in the country.
Credits: n.com.do
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