U.S. Department of Commerce Secretarial Business Development Mission to Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua

Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez will lead a U.S. business delegation to the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Costa Rica, September 29-October 4, 2008, to explore opportunities arising from the Central American-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR). Last year, U.S. exports to the Central American and Caribbean region surpassed $22 billion -- an impressive tally likely to increase as CAFTA-DR continues to eliminate most tariffs on U.S. exports.

Secretary Gutierrez stated that "CAFTA-DR is transforming the competitiveness of the Western Hemisphere in the global marketplace. Since implementation two years ago, the United States has reversed our previous trade deficit to a current trade surplus of $3.7 billion in 2007 with the CAFTA-DR countries. CAFTA-DR has expanded openness and transparency in the region, which has improved the trade and investment climate for U.S. companies."

This Mission is designed to promote a cross section of U.S. industries with clear potential in the Costa Rican, Dominican Republic and Nicaraguan markets, particularly, though not exclusively, in the best U.S. export sectors for the region: http://export.gov/CAFTADRMission