Equal Exchange, being the fair trade forward biz it is, is urging Dominican Republic’s prez to repeal an illegal and discriminatory tax imposed against fair trade coca farmers (via Two Heroes).

Apparently, a small group of wealthy families and trading firms, which traditionally dominated the Dominican cocoa industry, were unhappy that the less wealthy, such as CONACADO, a fair trade co-op, started making money.

CONACADO, a democratically organized farmer cooperative founded in 1988 and owned by 15,000 small scale Dominican farmers, is now the world’s largest exporter of certified organic cocoa and exports 20% of Dominican cocoa.

So the wealthy people asked the National Cocoa Commission — comprised primarily of themselves and members of the Agricultural Department — to impose a tax on small-scale cocoa producers. This tax went into effect in May 2004; since then, small farmers have paid $9.86 million in taxes.

CONACADO and others have tried to repeal the tax, unsuccessfully. So they’re asking small-scale Dominican farmers to speak out on this issue and asking Prez Leonel Fernández Reyna to intervene.

Equal Exchange, for its part, is asking partners and peers to ask Prez Fernandez to repeal this tax by calling the Embassy of the Dominican Republic at 202.332.6280 x 2523, faxing 202.265.8057, or emailing embdomrepusa@msn.com — except that email address isn’t working. AND, the DR Embassy’s website’s down.

So I called and left a message, and am now sending a snail mail letter; the text’s below. Feel free to copy, paste, and mail. More deets directly from Equal Exchange here.
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Embassy, The Dominican Republic
1715 22nd Street, NW
Washington DC 20008

To President Leonel Fernández Reyna, c/o the Embassy of the Dominican Republic:

I’m writing to urge you to repeal the so-called “Solidarity” tax that places an illegal and discriminatory burden on small-scale coca farmers.

As a US citizen who often buys cocoa products originating in the Dominican Republic, I was both shocked and disheartened to find out that a small group of wealthy individuals and companies have, in order to line their own pockets, successfully levied a tax on small-scale cocoa producers.

I’m especially concerned that CONACADO, a democratically organized farmer cooperative, is now required to pay an unfair tax.

Please repeal this “Solidarity” tax, allowing for fair trade between our countries.

Sincerely,
Siel

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