The Dominican Republic and Central America finalized negotiations and signed the Free Trade Agreement in Miami, on Saturday, 28 November. This is the first free trade agreement completed by the Dominican Republic. A second trade agreement is negotiated with the CARICOM nations of the Caribbean. Ambassador Frederich Emam-Zadé was the nation’s leading negotiator. Negotiations leading to the final signing concluded 5 November in El Salvador. Excluded from free trade status are sugar, ethyl alcohol, petroleum by products, corn flour, coffee, and poultry. Despite the final signing, still pending is the status of textile products. The treaty could be effective as of 1 January 1999, if the Dominican Congress approves the bill. Only one Central American nation needs to approve the bill for it to go into effect in Central America. The agreement creates a consumer market of more than 40 million persons in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.
