After decades of free trade, the DR pays tariffs to export to US. Dominican exports are now levied at least a 10% import tariff, slapped on by the Trump administration. Previously, Dominican exports were duty free, as per the DR-CAFTA agreement. The DR is paying the 10% minimum tariff exporters are now required to pay to enter cargo to the USA.
The new tariffs have escalated current trade tensions and represent the most substantial shift in the global economy in nearly a century. As reported, the tariffs have pushed the effective US tariff rate above 17%, the highest tax Americans have paid on foreign goods since the Great Depression.
The Abinader administrations say that talks continue with the US Trade Representative Office. The DR was one of the first countries to appeal the tax.
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11 August 2025