The Dominican Republic is eagerly striving towards the promotion of commercial integration between Latin American and Caribbean countries. In effect, conscious that globalization tendencies impose the need to adapt to further integration schemes, which will soon prevail in the World, the Dominican Government has decided to actively promote such integration process with the countries in the region. As a result, the Dominican Republic has therefore become an important leading country in the regional integration process, which implies a significant change in the country’s international policy with respect to the relative isolation it maintained during past decades.

Within this context, the Executive Power created in February 1997 the National Commission for Commercial Negotiation with the task to negotiate commercial agreements in the most expedited and satisfactorily manner possible for the Dominican Republic and its partners. This Commission is part of the Negotiating Team which has been developing the negotiation process with the nations of the area.

The position of the Dominican Republic has been marked with a clear approach towards the closest geographical area, proposing a strategic alliance between the Central American Countries and CARICOM (including Haiti), in the understanding that a joint block of these nations will not only allow these nations to broaden their market share and export capacity, but also to leverage their negotiation capacity with the largest blocks of the hemisphere: NAFTA, MERCOSUR and the Grupo Andino.

For instance, the country has signed a Free Trade Treaty with Central America; another similar Agreement with the Caribbean Community or CARICOM, a Partial Scope Free Trade Commercial Treaty with the Republic of Panama and a Free Trade Agreement with the United States of America and Central America (DR-CAFTA).

In relation to the signed treaties, we would like to point out the following:

• In the Agreement with CARICOM, more than eighty five per cent (85%) of commerce between both markets was liberalized, for an estimate of forty seven (47) millions of consumers. The Agreement provides for free market access to more than eight thousand (8,000) products originated from the region, with the exception of a negative list containing approximately fifty (50) products;

• The Agreement with Central America contemplates goods and services free market access as well as foreign investment. Similar to the Agreement with CARICOM, in this Agreement there is a list of products with limitations, which are subject to a progressive integration procedure into the free market;

• The Partial Scope Free Trade Commercial Treaty with the Republic of Panama will reduce import duties (or taxes imposed on goods) for a specific list of products which will enjoy a preferential tax treatment within the markets of both parties;

• The DR-CAFTA, as well as the previously mentioned agreements, will liberalize the goods and services of every member country to the Agreement. The reduction of import duties for goods is subject to a chronogram divided in eleven (11) phases or categories (referred to as “baskets”). Furthermore, the agreement provides for the applicable rules of origin in order to determine if a product is originated or not from a member country. In relation to the services, the member countries made reserves in the distribution, maritime transportation, air transportation and audiovisual sectors, amongst others. This agreement also embraces other important topics such as labor and environmental issues as well as solution of conflicts.

It is important to point out that all of these Agreements fall under the scope of the World Trade Organization (WTO), to which the Dominican Republic became a part of in April 1994, upon the execution of the Marrakech Agreement.

At present the Dominican Republic finds itself in the process of negotiation of a Free Trade Treaty with the European Union and the Asia, Caribbean, Pacific Region and a Free Trade Treaty with Taiwan.