ISDS Case Map
Dominican Republic
Dr Emilio Cordero Michel has warned that the Free Trade Agreement between the United States and Central America, known as DR-CAFTA, far from being a panacea, “will only fill the Dominican Republic with poverty and problems that we will never be able to solve”.
Foreign energy investors said on Friday that they warned the Dominican Republic it had to mend its crippled power sector months before filing a US$680 million (euro510 million) lawsuit against the country for lost electricity revenue.
President Leonel Fernández has said that the entry into effect of the DR-CAFTA agreement between the Dominican Republic, Central America and the United States provides "a sea of opportunities" for trade, investment and business between the Dominican Republic and the neighboring island of Puerto Rico.
The president of the Dominican Telecom Institute (Indotel) affirmed that the Free Trade Agreement with the United States and Central America (DR-CAFTA) will force the country to transform the free zones into high technology industrial parks to be able to compete in the world market.
The Dominican and Canadian governments yesterday began negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement, whereas official contacts for a similar accord with Mexico already started.
The US export of 25 MT of pears and apples to the Dominican Republic was the first transaction following the application of the free trade agreement between both countries.
The Dominican Republic made its long-awaited entry into a trade accord with the United States and Central American nations, leaving Costa Rica as the only signatory country where the deal has not taken effect.
The Free Trade Agreement with Central America and the United States has wandered into a state of limbo, notwithstanding statements by Industry and Commerce authorities here that the Dominicans have met all prerequisites needed to enter the treaty. Yet US authorities allege that there are issues pending.
There is little probability that the Dominican Republic will enter the Free Trade Agreement with Central America and the United States next January, as scheduled, because at least seven legislative pieces are still pending approval.
Legislation proposed for implementing the Free Trade Agreement with Central America and the United States (DR-CAFTA), presented to the Congress by the central government, contemplates a three-year extension beyond the 20 currently in force, for invention patents protection established in the Industrial Property law 20-00.
