DR-CAFTA
Perhaps the most well-known politician from Costa Rica today, Professor Ottn Sols has vocally opposed the provisions of DR-CAFTA (formerly CAFTA until the Dominican Republic joined the negotiations). The founder of the Citizens’ Action Party and a two-time presidential candidate, Prof. Ottn Sols regards DR-CAFTA as a mechanism that aims to eradicate the internal market that brings profits to small farmers and industrial companies of Costa Rica and has since demanded for renegotiations.Prof. Ottn Sols’ arguments are very much plausible, considering the possible effects the agreement will have on the Costa Rican economy. One of his arguments is about the potentially huge flow of cheap products coming from the United States. Under the terms of the DR-CAFTA, 80% of the import taxes on all merchandises and products coming in from the United States have been eliminated, with a phasing-out scheme for the remaining 20% to be conducted in subsequent years. Such agreement would hamper the growth of Costa Rica’s local market. From a businessman’s point of view, the lowering of the tax barriers of imported goods, poses a threat to any thriving internal business. Any consumer will pick a shirt made in the United States instead of the local brand almost always. According to Prof. Solis, it’s not just an attack on Costa Rica’s local market, but on Costa Rica’s democracy itself.With his laudable rebuttals and criticisms of DR-CAFTA, he may be right.
