First, the Multi-Fibre Agreement of international textile quotas expired at the beginning of the year, exposing the industry to the full force of cheaper labour competition from Asian countries such as China.
Second, the industry continued to suffer a long-running secular trend. To maintain the business of US fashion manufacturers,
“Confidence in the daily operations of the bank survived because of the way the business elite has covered the deficit with their own resources,” President Fernández told the FT.
Even so Banco del Progreso’s difficulties have been an uncomfortable reminder of the crisis in 2003 at Baninter, then the country’s
Cafta threatened to remove that competitive advantage and bestow it on countries such as Nicaragua and Honduras, where poverty levels are so severe that they could undercut even the wages paid to Dominicans.
Hugo Guiliani Cury, who had recently headed the Dominican Republic’s mission to the World Trade Organisation’s talks
Even President Leonel Fernández likes to compare the potential of the Samaná area in the north-east with that of Monte Carlo.
It is easy to understand the emphasis. Over the past 25 years the industry has grown apace. Tourist arrivals have soared since charter flights brought long-haul package holidaymakers from