Dominican officials push for CAFTA

Dominican officials push for CAFTA Officials from the Dominican Republic, one of only two signatories to the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) with the U.S. that have yet to implement the agreement, are in Washington, D.C. this week to see how they can speed up the process.
   An Associated Press report from Santo Domingo said Dominican negotiators would be meeting with officials from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to overcome any issues causing the delays. The report said U.S. State Department officials had cited intellectual property issues as one of the causes of the delays.
   Dominican Republic President Leonel Fernandez said in an address to his Congress in February that he wanted to have CAFTA-DR implemented by July. He said the agreement was essential to his country's ability to remain competitive against manufacturers in China that make apparel and other products similar to those produced in the Dominican Republic.