In Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic’s key rice industry has publicly affirmed its trust in President Luis Abinader and his administration to defend domestic production, as the country advances negotiations on a new reciprocal trade deal with the United States.
Heraldo Suero, who leads the Dominican Association of Rice Factories (Adofa), explained that the sector is looking to national leaders to protect the foundational conditions that allow local rice production to thrive, especially now that the staple crop has emerged as a central topic in the bilateral trade discussions.
According to Suero, U.S. negotiators have called for the Dominican government to roll back Decree 699-24, a current regulation that puts in place targeted measures governing rice imports into the country. While Adofa has not yet received details on what policy framework will replace the existing decree if it is repealed, Suero says the sector holds out hope that any new regulatory arrangement will preserve the core protective standards established by the current policy, while also addressing any ambiguities or areas for improvement that have been identified.
Suero further emphasized that maintaining domestic rice production is a matter of critical national importance. As the country’s primary staple food, the rice industry extends across more than 21 of the Dominican Republic’s provinces, supporting more than 30,000 independent producers and a sprawling interconnected network of related economic activities that make substantial contributions to local and national economies across the country.
Right now, Adofa and the broader Dominican rice sector are in a holding pattern, waiting for the Abinader administration to finalize its decision on what regulatory mechanism will govern protections for domestic rice production as trade negotiations with the United States continue to progress.