German investors hear the call of the Caribbean
Santo Domingo offers more than Cigars and Sugar Cane: The Caribbean country attracts investors from the USA and Germany with Free Trade Zones.
Santo Domingo is well-known as a tourist destination: The country attracted around ten million tourists last year and is a hotspot in the Caribbean. While tourists enjoy the dream beaches, economist Edwin Schuh focuses on numbers and facts: Gold and cigars, the traditional Dominican export products, are no longer in the lead. "Medical technology exports are the most important ones now," Schuh reports in the podcast "Wirtschaft Welt & Weit".
German companies have heard the call of the Caribbean for a long time. The proximity to the US market is logistically advantageous, and there is a low labor cost. Production takes place in the so-called "Zonas Francas", the Free Trade Zones: "Germany is the second most important investor in these Free Trade Zones after the USA," Schuh says in the new podcast episode.
Working for German companies is top-notch, according to political scientist Gilbert Kluth, not to be compared to the informal labor relationships that are common in the country. Particularly in agriculture, legal protection is often lacking.
Labor Forces from Haiti
Particularly precarious labor relationships affect people from the neighboring Haiti. Although the Dominican economy relies on these labor forces, the attitude towards them is often described as hostile. Exactly how the situation between the Dominican Republic and Haiti currently stands, how strong the separation and how close the border is, is discussed by Host Andrea Sellmann with Edwin Schuh and Gilbert Kluth in the new podcast episode.
Edwin Schuh is the Director for Mexico and the Caribbean at Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI), the Foreign Trade Agency of the Federal Government. Gilbert Kluth works for the Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation in the Dominican capital Santo Domingo. He is the Bureau Leader for the Dominican Republic and Cuba.
The United States and Germany are significant investors in Santo Domingo's Free Trade Zones, taking advantage of the country's strategic location and low labor costs. Economist Edwin Schuh highlights that medical technology exports have surpassed traditional ones like gold and cigars as the dominant exports. Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation's Gilbert Kluth, working in Santo Domingo, points out the difference in working conditions for Haitians in the Dominican Republic, noting that while they are essential to the economy, their labor conditions are often unfavorable.
