do business in the Dominican Republic - Pellerano & Herrera

DOING BUSINESS INTHE DOMINICAN REPUBLICopen bid procedures for all contracts specified in the agreement. The Chapterdescribes the manner of development of the bidding process from the start untilthe award of the contracts.The Chapter applies to contracts for goods and servicesexceeding the amount of US$58,550,000 and to contracts for construction servicesfor more than US$6,725,000.The Chapter on Intellectual Property reaffirms certain provisions already containedin our internal legal framework.The most important issues are the following:1) Maintenance of the patent protection period of 20 years;2) Cause of expiration of patents;3) Preservation of interpretation rules adopted within the WTO; and4) Partial application of provisions concerning confidential information in theprocess for obtaining commercialization permits for pharmaceutical productsand agricultural chemicals, among other achievements.The Chapter on Conflict Resolution provides the guidelines to be used in the eventof disputes arising between the parties. It creates a similar mechanism than theWTO Dispute Resolution system.Finally,other subjects covered in the agreement relate to sanitary and phitosanitarymeasures, technical obstacles to trade, telecommunications, electronic commerce,financial services, environment, labor and general provisions.DOMINICAN REPUBLIC AND THE WTOAs signatory to the Uruguay Round of Negotiations of the GATT and member ofthe World Trade Organization (WTO), the Dominican Republic is guided, in orderto plan the process of economic modernization and regional integration, in theprinciples and guidelines adopted by the WTO in view of liberalizing worldtrade.The country had also a very active participation at the WTO series of ministerialmeetings held in Doha in November 2001.One of the main objectives of the reform program executed by the country is toadapt its legal and economic framework to WTO postulates, so as to ensure itselfa place within the process of economic globalization that is taking place throughoutthe world.This process of adaptation to WTO rules has entailed comprehensive amendmentsin all of the fields with influence on economic activity, such as intellectualproperty and custom tariffs, as well as in economic sectors such as tourism,telecommunications, financial services, etc.DOMINICAN REPUBLIC AND TAIWANThe Dominican Republic and Taiwan signed a letter of intention for a Free TradeAgreement, in order to boost trade and investment between the two countries.The first talks have already started.54