The Dominican Republic and the United States held high-level talks in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, 22 April 2025 to address the recently announced global tariff policy by the US government. Minister of Foreign Relations Roberto Alvarez, Minister of Industry & Commerce Víctor (Ito) Bisonó, and Minister of Hacienda José Manuel Vicente met with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and with Sam Mulopulos, chief of staff of the Office of the US Trade Representative; Daniel Watson, Deputy Trade Representative for the Western Hemisphere; and Andrea Malito, senior director for DR-CAFTA.
The Dominican trio had traveled to Washington after the US government announced tariffs would apply to Dominican exports that previously entered duty-free under the DR-CAFTA trade agreement. The tariffs are having a major impact on the cost of free zone exports that have always entered tax free to the United States.
The Dominican Presidency issued a note describing the meeting as positive, amicable, and focused on ongoing dialogue. Both sides agreed on the importance of continuing exchanges through established channels.
The Presidency reports that during the meeting, the US delegation recognized the Dominican Republic’s close relationship and its role as a strategic partner in the region. They explained that the global tariff measure is part of a broader international trade strategy, with a minimum 10% tariff applied in the Dominican case.
The Dominican mission presented a detailed document outlining the country’s major accomplishments over the last five years in crucial areas such as economic growth, bilateral cooperation, migration management, counter-narcotics efforts, and national security. This presentation was well-received by the US Trade Representative (USTR).
The Dominican Republic also reiterated its interest in continuing to compete fairly with other countries in the region that have trade agreements with the United States.
As part of the discussion, US authorities noted the need to tackle certain issues outlined in the USTR’s National Estimate of Foreign Trade Barriers report. This presents an opportunity to further strengthen conditions affecting competitiveness and access to international markets.
DR1 News had published the USTR report on 1 April 2025. The areas touched upon are US rice and rebar exports, the import licensing procedure at the Ministry of Agriculture, the Customs Agency handling of US used-vehicle imports, and delays in passing a new Procurement Law, among others.
The Presidency highlighted in its note that both delegations agreed to keep this dialogue open and move towards future meetings to explore viable and sustainable solutions for both parties.
Read more:
Presidency
USTR Report
DR1 News
23 April 2025