US embassy cable - 05SANTODOMINGO3391

UNCLAS SANTO DOMINGO 003391 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR WHA, WHA/CAR, WHA/AND, INR, EB/ESC/IEC/EPC; 
NSC FOR SHANNON USCINCSO ALSO FOR POLAD;TREASURY FOR 
OASIA-MAUREEN WAFER; USDA FOR FAS; USDOC FOR 
4322/ITA/MAC/WH/CARIBBEAN BASIN DIVISION 
USDOC FOR 3134/ITA/USFCS/RD/WH; DHS FOR CIS-CARLOS ITURREGUI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD, PGOV, DR, CAFTA 
SUBJECT: DOMINICAN PRESIDENT FERNANDEZ CALLS ON CONGRESS TO 
PASS CAFTA NOW 
 
 
1. During his weekly television address to the nation on 
Sunday night June 26, President Leonel Fernandez argued 
strongly in support of CAFTA, urging the Dominican Congress 
to ratify the trade agreement as soon as possible for the 
benefit of all Dominican people.  The speech showed a clear 
change in tone from previous administration support for the 
agreement, when Fernandez supported the agreement more openly 
abroad than here in the Dominican Republic.  Fernandez,s 
call for ratification without further delays for compensatory 
legislation was a break from the administration,s 
wait-and-see approach to date. 
 
2.  In a nod to special interests, Fernandez asked his 
economic team to continue dialogue with agriculture and 
business to find the best way for the country to make the 
most of the agreement.  The core of Fernandez,s speech, 
however, was clearly the importance of ratifying CAFTA and 
doing so promptly. 
 
3.  Citing familiar statistics, Fernandez pointed out that 85 
percent of Dominican exports go to the United States and that 
CAFTA would make duty free 99.5 percent of its industrial and 
90 percent of its agricultural exports.  Failing to ratify 
CAFTA would not only deny the country these benefits but 
could end up with the demise of benefits from the Caribbean 
Basin Initiative and ultimately to losing much of the U.S. 
market to the Central American countries that have already 
signed on. 
 
4. To drive home his call for ratification, Fernndez 
commented that President Bush will be head of the upcoming 
Summit of the Americas which will be held in Argentina this 
November, a further reason for the U.S. President to do 
everything possible to secure passage of implementing 
legislation.  He suggested that CAFTA ratification was 
essential to secure other hemispheric trade agreements and 
implied that the Dominican Republic would do well  to be at 
the heart of such events. 
 
Ambassador on CAFTA 
 
5.  Hoy Newspaper carries an article today on Ambassador 
Hertell,s Sunday television appearance on channel 13, noting 
that the Ambassador sees the U.S. environment for CAFTA 
passage as positive, with passage of implementing legislation 
possible in early July.  He rejects the contention that the 
Dominican Republic needs to pass legislation granting special 
benefits to certain sectors before the Dominican Congress 
ratifies the agreement.  The Ambassador is cited as saying 
that if Dominicans are allowed to work without restrictions, 
he believes the country will be extraordinarily successful. 
 
6.    This piece and others in our series can be consulted at 
our SIPRNET site 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/santodomingo/  
along with extensive other material. 
HERTELL