Heard Around Town: Cuomo has not followed through on Dominican trade (updated)

As Gov. Andrew Cuomo prepares to travel to Puerto Rico next week, his administration says that New York will not be announcing any international trade agreements borne out of his first international trip as governor – a visit to the Dominican Republic last October, when he spoke of future deals with the Caribbean nation.

In an earlier version of this post, City & State had reported incorrectly that the Cuomo administration would be announcing international trade deals in the "near future." A spokesperson for the Cuomo administration said announcements for future trade missions will be made in the near future, not trade deals. The spokesman also said that the trip to the Dominican Republican and a past visit to Puerto Rico were campaign stops, during which he proposed trade deals with leaders. 

However, discussion of new trade opportunities between New York and the Dominican Republic was a major emphasis of the trip. During the visit, Cuomo said he would work on developing joint ventures between New York and the island nation and that he would be returning to "foster that trade."

"I'm very interested in further economic development efforts between New York and the Dominican Republic, and I would like to see the state of New York doing economic development and trade missions with the Dominican Republic to foster that development, which I think would be good for New York and good for the Dominican Republic," Cuomo said during a videotaped press conference. "And that's going to be the next priority for me, and in the beginning of the year we're looking to create some new economic development vehicles in the state that would allow capitalization of joint ventures between New York companies and Dominican Republic companies."

Over the past year the governor has set his sights outside New York state’s border, jetting off to the Dominican Republican, Puerto Rico and Italy to tout his Global NY initiative, which helps small businesses recruit foreign investment. He also led a trade mission to Cuba in April. 

With each trade mission announcement, critics have knocked Cuomo for the trips, arguing they are purely political and a waste of taxpayer dollars. Whether they ultimately boost Cuomo’s popularity is up for debate.

This week, Cuomo announced he will again lead a delegation to Puerto Rico, this time to discuss the territory's ongoing economic crisis.

“New York and Puerto Rico have a special relationship bound in heritage, history, culture and family – and when times are tough we stand side by side and offer whatever help we can,” Cuomo said in a statement. “This trip is about stepping up for Puerto Rico and its people, and I look forward to working together with our partners to help address this crisis.”