Whered DR-CAFTA go?
It was highly touted and keenly anticipated, but one year after the introduction of the free trade agreement, the DR can show few benefits from DR-CAFTA. According to Hoy, the DR has a negative trade deficit with the US and other CAFTA countries (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua). The only exception is Nicaragua with whom the DR registered a surplus in the balance of trade. According to Industry & Commerce Minister Melanio Paredes, the DR’s exports to the US only increased by 6%, excluding production in the free trade zones (FTZs). During that same period US exports towards the DR increased by 18%. Paredes added that the necessary studies are being completed to determine what the actual balance of trade between the US and the DR should be. Andres Vanderhorst, director of the National Competitiveness Council explained that the signing of DR-CAFTA was inevitable. Nevertheless, he insisted that Dominican exports to the US market have to increase. Paredes says tha
