Team size: Three 

First, can you please give us an idea of the sort of work your team has done recently? 

We have worked on quite a few interesting and challenging cases, transactions, and projects throughout my career at Gerdau Metaldom, including the following:  

Four successful trade remedies and antidumping cases before the Dominican Trade Defense Commission. The cases were related to corrugated steel bars imports from Turkey, Spain, China, and most recently, Costa Rica. The final decision on some of those cases have been challenged before local courts, and we have successfully defended them alongside the Trade Defense Commission. We have also successfully managed to extend the validity period of the antidumping duties imposed in the cases against Turkey and China.  

In 2021 the government of Costa Rica decided to challenge the antidumping duties imposed in that case, before the World Trade Organization (WTO). We are currently working in that case which is now on its final stage.  

In a successful unfair competition investigation conducted by the Competition Defense Commission, we managed to successfully defend an alleged abuse of dominant position and unfair practices claim presented before the Commission by an association of steel products importers. After a thorough and detailed investigation performed by the Executive Director of the Commission, the claim was dismissed in its entirety.  

Before Gerdau Metaldom came to be, there were two separate competing companies; Industrias Nacionales (INCA), which at the time was a joint venture between Dominican investors and Gerdau Brazil, and Complejo Metalúrgico Dominicano, S.A. (METALDOM), fully owned by Dominican investors. As the in-house legal general counsel, I was involved in every step of the process, from the discussion, review and execution of the non-disclosure agreement, the letter of intent and term sheet, to the discussion, review and execution of the framework agreement and the performance of all the legal steps and processes required for the closing of the merger transaction.  

From project financing for the construction, installation and start-up of the necessary equipment and machinery for our production lines, to working capital facilities, debt restructuring, refinancing and derivatives, we have engaged in the negotiation and closing of quite a few financing transactions relevant to our business, and that were key to ensuring our ability to stay competitive, innovate and quickly adapt to the market and meet our clients’ needs.    

How do you stay up-to-date with changes in laws and regulations in the Dominican Republic relevant to your organisation’s industry?  

We constantly monitor the web pages of the Congress and the legal department of the executive branch to identify legislative initiatives with the potential to have a direct or indirect impact on the industrial sector in general, and in the business and operation of Gerdau Metaldom. We also actively participate in the Legal Committees of Associations such as Asociación de Industrias de la República Dominicana (AIRD), Consejo Nacional de la Empresa Privada (CONEP), Asociación Dominicana de Exportadores (ADOEXPO), among others, where we discuss bills and drafts of legal regulations that might affect our company.  

What is a cause, business related or otherwise, that you care about, and why?   

We are concerned about the informality with which some players conduct their businesses in the Dominican market and the lack of control from the authorities, which in most of the cases leads to tax evasions, customs undervaluation of imported goods, non-compliance with quality standards and other regulations, and other irregular practices that give those players an unfair advantage over the players that do comply. The authorities must ensure that the playing field always stays levelled.