The Association of Industries of the Dominican Republic (AIRD) drew attention to the risks posed to the country’s industrial fabric by various aspects included in the ¨Bill on logistics centers, logistics center operating companies and logistics operating companies¨ that is currently under discussion in the Senate of the Republic.
The AIRD maintained that, in various scenarios and through different channels, it has opted for consultation with representatives of the public and private sectors, showing its support for the public policy of turning the DR into the logistics hub of the region in regards to to export and re-export processes, but emphasizing that the piece needs to be balanced around the tax treatment of imports that enter the country according to the Project.
The union highlighted that the aspiration to turn the country into a logistics hub is necessary and opportune in the context of globalization and the opening of economies, however, it considers that approving a piece of legislation that grants a discriminatory tax treatment that threatens local industry, would seriously affect the revitalization of the economy.
The AIRD trusts that the reflective and rational dialogue will be maintained, until a consensus is reached that allows maintaining the levels of competitiveness of the national industry. If the Project is approved in its current wording, it would result in a contradiction to the provisions of the Executive Branch through Decree 588-20 dated October 26, 2020, which declared industrialization as a national priority to enhance competitiveness and productivity in the country.
The local industry represents 12% of GDP; 16% of contributions to social security; 30% of ITBIS collections; 37% of national exports and generates close to 458,000 direct jobs and more than a million indirect jobs in our economy.
The project that is in the Congress of the Republic was submitted by the senator for the province María Trinidad Sánchez, Arístides Victoria Yeb.
Customs
Before a forum at Intec, the General Director of Customs, Eduardo Sanz Lovatón, said that the logistics hub is a reality in the Dominican Republic “and that the Government’s commitment to the logistics hub is to offer logistics services to a market that exceeds the US .8 trillion (20 times the gross domestic product of the country).
What has been reflected, in the generation of more jobs, the search for new ways of development, not only tourism, but also in Free Trade Zones and remittances.
Lovatón also explained about the contribution that Customs is making to continue being a logistics hub, among the contributions are: Dispatch in 24 Hours (D24H), more than 50,000 containers dispatched to date, the new Customs Law 168 -21, strengthening of the regulatory framework, MOR Risk engine, increase in collections of more than 1,000 million, month by month, new technologies for non-intrusive reviews (X-Rays), integration of new technological systems, Simplified OEA implementation of which we are the leaders in the Caribbean and second place in all of Latin America and fourth in the entire continent.
american chamber
During the virtual event RD Logistics: Engine of international trade Nearshoring, Hubs, Digitization”, three specialists spoke about the possibility that the Dominican Republic has of installing regional logistics and distribution centers.
The executive vice president of AmchamDR, William Malamud, reaffirmed that the Dominican Republic must position itself as a Regional Logistics Hub and take advantage of its proximity to the United States to attract more foreign investment, but understands that it is necessary to continue reducing costs, times, processes and complexity of the cross-border trade.