Dominican authorities do not rule out taking Haiti before WTO
Haitian ambassador warns they will protect their environment
Diario Libre
SD. Faced with the decision by Haiti to prohibit the import of plastic products from the Dominican Republic starting 1 August, the Dominican authorities announced yesterday that they have not dismissed the possibility of taking this case before the World Trade Organization (WTO) to settle the case just as has been requested by the Association of Industrial Enterprises of Herrera (AEIH).
Yesterday the Haitian ambassador in the country, Fritz Cineas, warned that his government wants to protect their environment and because of this a year ago they prohibited the import, manufacture, sale and use of plastic products. By means of a decree, President Michel Martelly ordered the prohibition.
Because of that attitude, the Dominican Chancellor, Carlos Morales Troncoso, said that the country has every right to go before the WTO after noting that both nations are members of that entity, but also they are part of the Agreement of Economic Association with Europe.
"In bilateral commerce and multilateral commerce there are rules to follow, governed by the corresponding instrument for bilateral commercial relations," said Morales Troncoso, when he was interviewed in the Presidential Palace after taking part in the meeting that President Danilo Medina has with the new United Nations representative in the country.
The official said that the Dominican Republic has been taken before the WTO by Honduras and Costa Rica, so that he called the process normal, while the stressed the importance of Haiti for the country.
Fritz Cineas
For his part, ambassador Fritz Cineas explained that plastic refuse not only is affecting the maritime waters of Haiti, but also those of Cuba, Jamaica and the very DR.
"The government wants the producers to put in the additive, because plastic is not biodegradable, nevertheless there is a chemical additive that the manufacturers could use to make plastic be biodegradable in six months, and even five years, without this, plastic takes 400 years or more to degrade itself," he stressed while saying: "We are protecting our environment."
He denied that there is any friction in the relations between the two countries and assured reporters that everything is going along perfectly, "and nothing or anyone can alter the good relations."
He conditioned the imports (of plastic products) to the manufacturers using chemical additives that will make them biodegradable.
"I call upon you, the members of the press, to have a more positive thought or attitude; stop complicating the relations between the two countries," Cineas added, after meeting with the Minister of Foreign Relations, Carlos Morales Troncoso at the Chancellery.
In the meantime, the Dominican Commission for Commercial Defense (CDC) proclaimed that it is closely following the stories being spread by the Haitian private sector, with respect to supposedly unfair trade practices from the Dominican Republic.
Yesterday the Haitian ambassador in the country, Fritz Cineas, warned that his government wants to protect their environment and because of this a year ago they prohibited the import, manufacture, sale and use of plastic products. By means of a decree, President Michel Martelly ordered the prohibition.
Because of that attitude, the Dominican Chancellor, Carlos Morales Troncoso, said that the country has every right to go before the WTO after noting that both nations are members of that entity, but also they are part of the Agreement of Economic Association with Europe.
"In bilateral commerce and multilateral commerce there are rules to follow, governed by the corresponding instrument for bilateral commercial relations," said Morales Troncoso, when he was interviewed in the Presidential Palace after taking part in the meeting that President Danilo Medina has with the new United Nations representative in the country.
The official said that the Dominican Republic has been taken before the WTO by Honduras and Costa Rica, so that he called the process normal, while the stressed the importance of Haiti for the country.
Fritz Cineas
For his part, ambassador Fritz Cineas explained that plastic refuse not only is affecting the maritime waters of Haiti, but also those of Cuba, Jamaica and the very DR.
"The government wants the producers to put in the additive, because plastic is not biodegradable, nevertheless there is a chemical additive that the manufacturers could use to make plastic be biodegradable in six months, and even five years, without this, plastic takes 400 years or more to degrade itself," he stressed while saying: "We are protecting our environment."
He denied that there is any friction in the relations between the two countries and assured reporters that everything is going along perfectly, "and nothing or anyone can alter the good relations."
He conditioned the imports (of plastic products) to the manufacturers using chemical additives that will make them biodegradable.
"I call upon you, the members of the press, to have a more positive thought or attitude; stop complicating the relations between the two countries," Cineas added, after meeting with the Minister of Foreign Relations, Carlos Morales Troncoso at the Chancellery.
In the meantime, the Dominican Commission for Commercial Defense (CDC) proclaimed that it is closely following the stories being spread by the Haitian private sector, with respect to supposedly unfair trade practices from the Dominican Republic.
Diario Libre
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