On October 22, DMK Abogados held its second “Webinar”, under the title of “Strategies to promote greater investment in Free Trade Zones in the Dominican Republic”. The activity counted with the participation of a panel of international caliber made up of industry leaders and the public sector. Ebell de Castro, Director of Promotion of Free Zones, intervened on behalf of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and MSMEs. An international perspective was offered by Carlos Rivera, CEO of The Foundation Group and past President of the Puerto Rico Industrial Association. The representation of the private sector was occupied by our friends, José Manuel Torres, Executive Vice President of the Dominican Association of Free Zones (ADOZONA), Juan Alfredo de La Cruz, President of the Dominican Employers’ Confederation (COPARDOM), and Tulio Martí consultant in matters of zones frank with enough local and international experience. The moderation of the panel was assumed by Andrés Ceara, Junior Partner, and Director of the Free Zones practice of DMK Abogados.
In a scenario that had more than one hundred participants, among those who attended via the ZOOM application and those who viewed the interview on our YouTube channel, the panelists explained in detail how this was the time to position the Republic The Dominican Republic as an investment destination in terms of free zones, considering that the combination of the economic policy of the Trump Administration, the trade war between China and the United States and the Covid-19 bring great opportunities in terms of foreign direct investment, logistics, international trade and of course, Free Zones, as a result of the trends that have been generated as a consequence, such as “Nearshoring” and “Reshoring” that geographically bring these capitals closer to the DR and the rest of LATAM.
José Manuel Torres presented the current situation of the sector and offered us data that demonstrates the resilience of the sector and how prompt its recovery has been in the face of Covid-19. Carlos Rivera, for his part, showed the decision process that a multinational company goes through before choosing a destination country for its investment, within that context he also explained how the Dominican Republic is perceived. Tulio Martí offered a detailed presentation on what are the challenges facing the sector and how they should be addressed in a strategic way to make the Dominican Republic an attractive option. Juan Alfredo De la Cruz addressed and presented proposals to work on the pending task that we have as a country to increase the skilled workforce, as well as the adaptation of labor legislation.
Finally, on the part of the public sector, Ebell de Castro shared which are the plans and strategies that are currently being developed by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and MSMEs to attract better and greater investments in Free Trade Zones, increase the chain of the sector with local suppliers, achieve higher levels of product quality, among others.
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