Tito Hernández maintains that repealing Decree 693-24 without alternative measures would put producers and rice self-sufficiency at risk
Santo Domingo.– The president of the National Association of Agricultural Professionals (ANPA), Tito Hernández, warned that the Dominican Republic is not prepared to face a total opening of the rice market and stated that complying with the United States’ request to repeal Decree 693-24 could compromise one of the country’s main agricultural activities.
Hernández maintained that for approximately two decades the country should have adopted measures to increase the sector’s competitiveness in light of the tariff reductions contemplated in the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA).
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In his view, during that period irrigation systems should have been modernized, production costs reduced, varieties renewed, research strengthened, and agricultural financing and mechanization expanded.
The United States has proposed the repeal of Decree 693-24, considering that the measure affects the market access conditions provided under DR-CAFTA for its rice.
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The Dominican provision establishes a preferential quota of 23,300 metric tons of U.S. rice at zero tariff, while a Most-Favored-Nation tariff of 99% applies outside of that volume.
The ANPA leader stated that an eventual elimination of these protections could affect some 30,000 producers and an economic chain that, according to data released by authorities when the decree was announced, exceeds RD$45 billion annually.
Hernández pointed out that Dominican producers would have to compete with U.S. agriculture of greater scale and technical advancement, which is why he understands that a sudden opening could put downward pressure on locally paid prices, increase indebtedness, and cause a reduction in planted areas.
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He also warned about the risk of the country progressively losing its capacity for self-sufficiency and increasing its dependence on imports of a staple food.
Given this scenario, Hernández asked President Luis Abinader to convene a national rice roundtable, with the participation of the Government, producers, agricultural professionals, factories, the Agricultural Bank, universities, and research centers.
Likewise, he proposed conducting an independent study on the economic, social, and food-related effects of the opening, as well as seeking transition and protection mechanisms for producers in conversations with the United States.
“The position of the ANPA must be clear: we are not against trade or compliance with international agreements. We are against sacrificing the Dominican producer to pay the consequences of twenty years of lack of preparation,” maintained Hernández.
President Luis Abinader stated on Wednesday that the Government is maintaining negotiations with the United States using the provisions established in the trade agreement and zero tariff as a reference, although he did not specify whether there is an agreement regarding the repeal or modification of Decree 693-24.
