The Dominican Republic's main advantage in the context of the DR-
CAFTA treaty is generally agreed to be its strategic geographical
position.

The country is at a central point between the US and the Central
American continent, with rapid maritime links to both US ports
(including Puerto Rico) and most of the Central American member
states. This makes possible prompt delivery of goods in all directions.
The main ports in the DR are Punta Caucedo on the south coast, to the
east of the capital Santo Domingo, Haina, to the west of the capital,
and Manzanillo, in the far north west of the country. Puerto
Multimodal Caucedo, on the southeast coast, is a hi-tech, newly
constructed mega-port designed for the 21st century, owned and
operated by DP World, one of the three largest port companies in the
world. Other ports are Puerto Plata in the north, Sanchez in the
northeast, San Pedro de Macoris in the south east and Barahona in the
south west.
Likewise, the Dominican Republic has more airports than any other
Caribbean or Central American country, and is constantly expanding
its air service from all around the world. While tourism has spurred
the growth, the charter and regular service lines facilitate cargo
transport as well at attractive prices.
The capital city is served by Las Americas. Most arrivals, though,
land at the Punta Cana International Airport, in the country's
booming east coast tourist zone. Other international airports serving
areas of commercial and tourism importance are Cibao (Santiago), La
Romana, La Isabela (also near Santo Domingo) Gregorio Luperon (Puerto
Plata). There are also airports in Barahona and in El Catey, located
between the northeastern towns of Nagua and Sánchez, which primarily
serves the Samana peninsula, an important area for tourism development.
In addition, the Dominican Republic has the distinction of being,
culturally and linguistically, as well as geographically, both a
Latin American and Caribbean nation. The country can therefore act as
a physical and virtual bridge between the Central American and
Caribbean regions. In the direction of Central America this opens up
access, and potential new markets in areas that the Central American
countries have a relationship with, such as Mexico and South America.
Looking towards the rest of the Caribbean, the non-DR-CAFTA states of
the French, Dutch and English-speaking Caribbean, open up new trading
opportunities for the Central American member states.
Although not a member of the Caricom association of Caribbean
nations, the Dominican Republic has strong trade links with the
Caricom member states. The Dominican government signed a trade
agreement with Caricom in 1998, that came into effect in December 2001.
The Dominican Republic is a member of the African, Caribbean and
Pacific Group of States (ACP), an organization created by the
Georgetown Agreement in 1975. It is composed of African, Caribbean
and Pacific States signatories to the Georgetown Agreement or the
Partnership Agreement between the ACP and the European Union,
officially called the "ACP-EC Partnership Agreement" or the "Cotonou
Agreement". The DR and Caricom are currently engaged in discussions
with the aim of working towards improving trading conditions with the
European Union that could open these markets to the rest of Central
America as well through the CAFTA alliance with the DR.
Again, the Dominican Republic provides a bridge between its Central
American counterparts in DR-CAFTA for expanding exports and trade
with the important and sizeable European Union market._The largest
trading partner in the DR-CAFTA agreement, however, is the United
States, a country with which the Dominican Republic has strong
cultural, commercial, political and historical links.
According to Dominican business leader Francisco García, the DR's
main advantage in the DR-CAFTA context is its proximity to the US.
This, he says, needs to be exploited more. However, Frank Santeiro of
Fedex warns that the DR's geographic advantage is only an advantage
as long as the transaction costs, such as the cost of processing
freight, are competitive. The Dominican authorities and business
community are aware that this is a key area where improvement is
needed in order for the country to compete effectively in the DR-
CAFTA framework. The Dominican Republic's customs system is in a
process of radical reform and development in order to face this
challenge.
The Dominican Republic, along with its Central American counterparts,
is a country of diverse physical features. Its natural assets include
fertile agricultural land, and the different microclimates ranging
from the tropical to the semi-arid and temperate mean that a rich
variety of crops can be cultivated.
The country's outstanding natural beauty makes it a top tourist
destination, yet there is much more to the country than the beach
vacations that it is famous for. Its mountainous interior, its rich
biodiversity and climate present investors with opportunities for a
new model of tourism investment, on the lines of adventure and eco-
tourism. As a top tourist destination for the last three decades, the
Dominican workforce is specialized, experienced and highly trained in
this field.
The industrial sector, with its experienced Free Trade Zones
workforce and management, needs to take on the challenges of a new
industrial model with the opportunities presented by the DR-CAFTA
agreement.
For the region as a whole, in comparison with Asian competitors, the
language - Spanish, and Latin culture - are an advantage as their
influence in US and the rest of the world is growing. There is a
large English-speaking sector in the workforce, which is already
excelling in services such as call centers, and other areas where
language skills are essential.
The Dominican Republic has good and rapidly improving physical
infrastructure - high quality paved roads and highways, and modern,
generally well-equipped airports around the country. The DR has a
national road network of almost 7,900 miles (12,600 km) of which
3,900 miles (6,200 km) are paved.
The telecommunications sector is particularly well developed by
regional and international standards. There are four main
telecommunications companies in the country - Codetel, Orange, Tricom
and Centennial.
The Achilles heel of the Dominican Republic is the power sector. The
business community and the government are only too aware that this
area needs urgent improvements. Until this is achieved, companies
doing business in the Dominican Republic have to take into
consideration high-energy costs and the need to install and maintain
back-up power systems.
The Dominican government has made some progress towards improving the
capacity of its workforce with technical and bi-lingual education and
training programs. The DR has the largest number of universities in
the Caribbean, between private and government institutions. (Reviewed
12 June 2007)