President pushes for DR-CAFTA
President Bush and Dominican Republic President Leonel Fernandez held an Oval Office meeting Wednesday, after which Bush said the U.S. intends to implement the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) as soon as possible.
'I had my trade minister, Susan Schwab, here to make sure that we both heard the message of the president'that this is a very important piece of legislation,' Bush commented.
Each of the six nations participating in the agreement with the U.S. need to pass enacting legislation and work out bilateral details before the benefits take effect. The Dominican Republic has not passed the final legislation, and negotiators are working on specifics involving intellectual property rights and details affecting pharmaceutical manufacturing, according to a report in the Associated Press.
'We are now in the final phase,' Fernandez said. 'This is a bill now before our own congress in the Dominican Republic. We are dealing with some minor legal amendments, and our two teams have been working very hard to obtain a speedy implementation.'