On August 5, 2004, the United States signed the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) with five Central American countries (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua) and the Dominican Republic (the Parties). Under the Agreement, the Parties significantly liberalizes trade in goods and services.
The CAFTA-DR also includes important disciplines relating to: customs administration and trade facilitation, technical barriers to trade, government procurement, investment, telecommunications, electronic commerce, intellectual property rights, transparency and labor and environmental protection.
The Agreement entered into force for the United States and El Salvador on March 1, 2006; for, Honduras and Nicaragua on Aril 1 2006; and for Guatemala on July 1, 2006. The CAFTA-DR entered into force for the Dominican Republic on March 1, 2007, and for Costa Rica on January 1, 2009.
U.S.-Dominican Republic Trade Facts
In 2019, Dominican Republic GDP was an estimated $89.5 billion (current market exchange rates); real GDP was up by an estimated 5.1%; and the population was 10 million. (Source: IMF)
U.S. goods and services trade with Dominican Republic totaled an estimated $22.9 billion in 2019. Exports were $11.9 billion; imports were $11.0 billion. The U.S. goods and services trade surplus with Dominican Republic was $850 million in 2019.
Dominican Republic is currently our 36th largest goods trading partner with $14.7 billion in total (two way) goods trade during 2019. Goods exports totaled $9.2 billion; goods imports totaled $5.6 billion. The U.S. goods trade surplus with Dominican Republic was $3.6 billion in 2019.
Trade in services with Dominican Republic (exports and imports) totaled an estimated $8.2 billion in 2019. Services exports were $2.7 billion; services imports were $5.5 billion. The U.S. services trade deficit with Dominican Republic was $2.8 billion in
Exports
- Dominican Republic was the United States' 30th largest goods export market in 2019.
- U.S. goods exports to Dominican Republic in 2019 were $9.2 billion, up 2.7% ($241 million) from 2018 and up 74.5% from 2009. U.S. exports to Dominican Republic are up 71.8% from 2006 (pre-FTA).
- The top export categories (2-digit HS) in 2019 were: mineral fuels ($2.5 billion), electrical machinery ($771 million), machinery ($607 million), vehicles ($588 million), and plastics ($500 million).
- U.S. total exports of agricultural products to Dominican Republic totaled $1.3 billion in 2019, our 23th largest agricultural export market. Leading domestic export categories include: soybean meal ($184 million), tobacco ($125 million), dairy products ($91 million), soybean oil ($90 million), and poultry meat & products (ex. eggs) ($78 million).
- U.S. exports of services to Dominican Republic were an estimated $2.7 billion in 2019, 8.5% ($211 million) more than 2018, and 110% greater than 2009 levels. Leading services exports from the U.S. to Dominican Republic were in the travel, transport, and financial services sectors.
Imports
- Dominican Republic was the United States' 42nd largest supplier of goods imports in 2019.
- U.S. goods imports from Dominican Republic totaled $5.6 billion in 2019, up 4.7% ($249 million) from 2018, and up 66.8% from 2009. U.S. imports from Dominican Republic are up 22.5% from 2006 (pre-FTA).
- The top import categories (2-digit HS) in 2019 were: optical and medical instruments ($971 million), electrical machinery ($847 million), tobacco ($785 million), knit apparel ($507 million), and precious metal and stone (jewelry) ($426 million).
- U.S. total imports of agricultural products from Dominican Republic totaled $454 million in 2019. Leading categories include: raw beet & cane sugar ($97 million), cocoa beans ($67 million), fresh vegetables ($49 million), other fresh fruit ($44 million), and wine and beer ($23 million).
- U.S. imports of services from Dominican Republic were an estimated $5.5 billion in 2019, 5.0% ($261 million) more than 2018, and 94.2% greater than 2009 levels. Leading services imports from Dominican Republic to the U.S. were in the travel, transport, and telecommunications, computer, and information services sectors.
Trade Balance
- The U.S. goods trade surplus with Dominican Republic was $3.6 billion in 2019, a 0.2% decrease ($8 million) over 2018.
- The United States has a services trade deficit of an estimated $2.8 billion with Dominican Republic in 2019, up 1.8% from 2018.
Investment
- U.S. foreign direct investment (FDI) in Dominican Republic (stock) was $2.6 billion in 2019, a 20.4% increase from 2018. U.S. direct investment in Dominican Republic is led by manufacturing, information services, and wholesale trade, .
- Dominican Republic's FDI in the United States (stock) was $151 million in 2019, up 41.1% from 2018. There is no information on the distribution of Dominican Republic FDI in the U.S.
- Sales of services in Dominican Republic by majority U.S.-owned affiliates were $1.1 billion in 2017 (latest data available). There were no sales of services in the United States by majority Dominican Republic owned firms in 2017.
