RESTRICTED  
 
WT/TPR/G/319  
3 June 2015  
(15-2898)  Page: 1/12  
Trade Policy Review Body  Original: Spanish  
 
  TRADE POLICY REVIEW 
REPORT BY 
THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC  
Pursuant to the Agreement Establishing the Trade Policy Review Mechanism (Annex 3 of the 
Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Tr ade Organization), the policy statement by 
the Dominican Republic is attached. 
 
 
Note:  This report is subject to restricted circulation and press embargo until the end of the 
first session of the meeting of the Trade Po licy Review Body on the Dominican Republic. WT/TPR/G/319 • Dominican Republic 
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  Contents 
1 OVERVIEW 2008-2014 .................................................................................................. 3  
2 EFFECTS OF THE INTERNATIO NAL CRISIS (2 008-2009) ............................................... 3  
3 RECOVERY AFTER THE INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL CRISIS (2010-2012) .................... 4  
4 STABILIZATION AND NORMALIZATION OF  THE ECONOMIC CY CLE (2012-2014) .......... 5  
4.1 Early repayment of Petrocaribe debt ............................................................................... 6  
4.2 National Develo pment Stra tegy ..................................................................................... 7  
4.3 Poverty ................................................................................................................... ... 7 
4.4 Agricultur al sect or .......................................................................................................  8 
4.5 Tariffs ....................................................................................................................... 12 
 WT/TPR/G/319 • Dominican Republic 
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  1  OVERVIEW 2008-2014 
1.1.  In the period 2008-2014, the Dominican Republic's real gross domestic product (GDP)1 grew 
at an average annual rate of 4.4%, which was higher than the average for Latin America. The growth recorded in the period under re view was remarkable given the unfavourable 
international environment, which included the global financial crisis that occurred at the start of 
the period under consideration and its negative effe cts on economic activity in the ensuing years. 
1.2.  To counter the negative effects of the international crisis, the Dominican Government 
adopted a package of fiscal and monetary policy measures to cushion its short-term impact and 
restore macroeconomic conditions under which the economy could recover its growth potential. Some of these measures were implemented under the Stand-By Arrangement (2010-2012) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which helped lay the groundwork for stabilizing and 
normalizing the economic cycle. 
1.3.  Despite bouts of commodity price volatility on international markets, which affected domestic 
prices, average inflation was 5.6% during the period  of this trade policy review. It is worth noting 
that with the launch of the inflation target scheme in 2012, average inflation was 3.1% for 
the 2012-2014 period, which was below the historical average and also meant lower inflation volatility. 
1.4.  Similarly, as regards external accounts, the de ficit in the current account of the balance of 
payments
2 represented an average GDP share of 6.1% during the period 2008-2014. Although this 
average is high by historical standards, the co mbination of government efforts to achieve fiscal 
consolidation, the resumption of gold and silver exports and favourable real exchange rate 
movements, all occurring since the end of 2012, helped lower the current account deficit 
from 6.6% of GDP for that year to 3.1% at the close of 2014. Meanwhile, net international reserves almost doubled from US$2,165.4 million in 2008 to US$4,650.4 million in 2014, bringing 
net reserves to 3.5 months' worth of imports, excluding the free zone sector. 
1.5.  As regards fiscal accounts, the fiscal deficit of the non-financial public sector recorded an 
average GDP share of 3.8% from 2008 to 2014, reversing the downward trend witnessed during 
the monetary and financial crisis of 2003. After th at year, fiscal consolidat ion resulting from debt 
restructuring and tax system reform helped keep the non-financial public sector deficit at an average of 1.0% of GDP between 2004 and 20 07. This fiscal space enabled the country to 
implement expansionary fiscal policy measures during the international crisis, which led to the 
increase in the deficit. 
2  EFFECTS OF THE INTERNATIO NAL CRISIS (2008-2009) 
2.1.  As of the end of 2007 the world economy und erwent bouts of instability caused by 
the United States subprime crisis and an appreciable increase in international commodity prices, 
in particular those of oil, food and raw ma terials. The picture became even more bleak 
between 2008 and 2009 with the deteriorating situ ation of world financial institutions, leading 
to a liquidity squeeze on international interbank markets and further compounding the 
international crisis. 
2.2.  The country therefore faced new challenges aris ing from the negative repercussions of the 
world financial crisis, which affected domestic and external demand, put upward pressure on 
prices, provoked liquidity constraints on domestic financial markets and significant changes in 
consumption and investment patterns, and caused a deterioration in the terms of trade. 
2.3.  Responding to these unfavourable circumstance s and in line with its principal remit of 
maintaining price stability, the Central Bank adopted a more restrictive monetary policy in the 
second quarter of 2008 by raising the overnight rate from 7.0% to 9.5%. These measures were designed to anchor inflation expectatio ns and dampen inflationary pressures. 
                                               
1 The GDP figures correspond to the new National Accounts series using 2007 as the base year and 
made official by the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic in August 2014. 
2 Balance-of-payments figures from 2010 onward are pres ented in accordance with the guidelines of the 
Sixth Edition of the IMF Balance of Payments and Intern ational Investment Position Manual, while those for the 
years 2008-2009 are based on the preceding version of the manual. WT/TPR/G/319 • Dominican Republic 
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  2.4.  To protect the most vulnerable sectors of society, the Government in 2008 increased both 
current and capital spending by expanding its social programmes and raising the electricity 
subsidy; it also granted subsidies to producers based on the increase in the prices of the main products in the basic basket and provided incentives for protecting jobs in the free zones as well as 
for the public transportation of passengers and freight. This increase in spending, combined with 
below-estimate tax revenues resulting from more sluggish economic activity, pushed up non-financial public sector debt to 6.2% of GDP. 
2.5.  Moreover, a series of measures were taken during  this period that led to a reduction in the 
tax take. They included adopting or expanding laws on sector-specific tax incentives and reducing or eliminating taxes such as income tax, taxe s on government payments, the registration of 
second mortgages, and selective taxes on the ag ricultural and transport sectors, among others. 
In addition to the extraordinary revenue collected in 2008, these measures account for the 
reduction in the tax ratio from 15.0% of GDP in 2008 to 13.1% of GDP in 2009. 
2.6.  External sector accounts deteriorated with the doubling of the current account deficit, 
from 4.9% to 9.4% of GDP, at the close of 2008 as compared to the preceding year. 
Approximately 53.6% of the increase in the deficit for that year was attributable to increases in the value of oil and food imports. In 2009, the current account deficit fell to 4.8% of GDP in a 
context of slower domestic economic growth, which passed from 3.1% in 2008 to 0.9% in 2009. 
The fall in this deficit resulted from a contraction in demand for imports that was more than proportional to the fall in total exports. 
2.7.  In this context of sluggish economic activity and reduced inflationary pressures, the monetary 
authorities altered their policy as of 2009 in favour of monetary easing through a package of 
measures that successfully addressed the adverse growth impacts of the crisis. 
2.8.  In addition to a gradual reduction, by 450 basis points, in the monetary policy rate, these 
measures were accompanied by the freeing up of legal reserves worth RD$21,790.7 million, 
as well as a 2.5 percentage point reduction in the required reserve ratio for all financial intermediation entities. These funds for productive sectors were channelled into loans for 
consumption. As a result, market interest rates fell and private sector borrowing increased, leading 
to higher levels of liquidity in the economy. 
2.9.  As a result of the imbalances experienced in  2008 and their impact on the real economy 
in 2009, the Dominican Republic signed a new Stand-By Arrangement with the IMF in 
November 2009 for an amount equivalent to US$1,700 million, a portion of which went directly to 
support budgetary execution. 
3  RECOVERY AFTER THE INTERNATIONA L FINANCIAL CRISIS (2010-2012) 
3.1.  In 2010, as a result of monetary easing and fiscal stimulus under the agreement with 
the IMF, real GDP growth exceeded expectations with  an increase of 8.3% over 2009. Fiscal policy 
remained expansionary during the first quarter of the year and focused on fiscal consolidation in 
the second half of the year, mainly through current expenditure. 
3.2.  In addition, Law No. 139-11 was adopted to boost revenue by means of fiscal measures 
including inter alia : a package of temporary measures such as a tax on financial assets and higher 
income tax on legal persons; permanent measures such as a change in the level of the withholding 
tax on sales of goods and services to government  suppliers, a change in the gambling and betting 
tax regime, and the imposition of a levy on sales by free zones on the domestic market. As a result of these measures and of budgetary exec ution for 2010, the consolidated public sector 
deficit fell by a further 0.4 percentage points to  4.1% of GDP. Steps were also taken to enhance 
the institutional capacity of the tax administration as well as auditing and control procedures, and a plan was adopted to rationalize tax exemptions. 
3.3.  In 2011, there were fresh increases in some international food prices and in the price of oil, 
which in turn triggered inflationary pressures. Th at same year also witnessed adjustments to the 
regulated electricity tariff and to minimum wages,  which generated further inflationary pressures. 
Against this backdrop and to attenuate the inflationary impact of these factors, monetary policy WT/TPR/G/319 • Dominican Republic 
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  was gradually adjusted, with the overnight rate being increased from 5.0% in November 2010 
to 6.75% in May 2011 and held at that level for the rest of the year. 
3.4.  On the fiscal side, increased international oil prices meant larger transfers by way of 
subsidies to the electricity sector. Concurrently, non-social primary spending contracted, with the 
result that the non-financial public sector defici t increased by a mere 0.3% of GDP to close the 
year at 3.2%. Consequently, public consumption at end-2011 was up 0.1%, which in combination with increases of 3.1% in private consumption, 13.0% in exports, 1.2% in imports and a fall 
of 3.9% in gross domestic investment, produc ed a slowdown in economic growth and 2.8% 
year-on-year GDP growth at the close of 2011. 
3.5.  In the area of external sector accounts, the years 2010 and 2011 saw the current account 
deficit holding steady at 7.5% of GDP, which was higher than the 4.8% recorded in 2009. 
Despite the larger current account deficit, it was possible to accumulate US$786.0 million in net 
international reserves and maintain a relatively stable exchange rate, which showed an annual average depreciation rate of 3.5%. 
3.6.  In 2012, given the first signs of recovery in the United States and evidence of a downturn in 
the euro zone, the Dominican economy managed to cu t its current account deficit by 0.9% of GDP, 
to 6.6%. This was in part attributable to the resumption of gold and silver exports in the last 
quarter of the year in question, and to lower international commodity prices. 
3.7.  On the domestic front, private consumption grew  moderately in the context of an election 
year, while private investment seemed to remain on hold, mainly owing to the expectations created around the tax reform thought likely to be implemented in early 2013. As regards fiscal 
performance, public consumption grew 11.3% in real terms and public investment received a 
substantial boost, being concentrated on the co mpletion of road infrastructure works as the 
Government's term in office drew to a close. Similarly, an appreciable increase in subsidization of 
the electricity sector combined with the above factors to increase the consolidated public sector 
d e f i c i t  t o  a  y e a r - e n d  f i g u r e  o f  8 . 0 %  o f  G D P ,  with the non-financial public sector accounting 
for 6.9%. In this context, the economy closed the year 2012 with a positive change of 2.6% in 
real GDP despite the 2.0% contraction in total gross investment for that year. 
3.8.  On the monetary side, the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic began formally introducing 
an inflation target scheme in January 2012 as a framework for implementing monetary policy. The scheme is intended to control inflation and its main tool is the monetary policy rate (MPR), 
which serves as a policy signpost. As of May that year, there was some easing of monetary policy 
through reductions in the MPR in the light of the negative output gap and low inflation. 
4  STABILIZATION AND NORMALIZATION OF  THE ECONOMIC CYCLE (2012-2014) 
4.1.  A fiscal consolidation plan was launched at the end of 2012, envisaging an increase in 
government revenue through tax reform and reduced public spending, together with a 
reorientation of spending towards priority areas and the most vulnerable population groups. 
Law No. 253-12 was promulgated to that end, providing for a temporary increase in the Tax on the 
Transfer of Industrial Goods and Services (ITBIS) from 16% to 18%; the broadening of the tax base to include exempt products to be taxed at  a reduced ITBIS rate that would be gradually 
increased to 16% over four years; regulations on transfer pricing and undercapitalization; the 
taxing of interest and dividends; an increase in selective taxes on alcoholic beverages and 
cigarettes; and a reduction of tax incentives, among other things. Consequently, the consolidated public sector deficit contracted significantly by 3.5% of GDP over a period of two years, moving 
from 8.0% in 2012 to 4.5% in 2014. 
4.2.  Furthermore, the reduction in the public sector deficit began to be reflected in the balance of 
the non-financial public sector debt, which closed at 37.9% of GDP in 2014, a reduction of 0.4% of 
GDP as compared to 2013. The fiscal consolidatio n plan envisages primary surpluses as of 2015, 
which will require the continued reduction of public debt as a share of GDP. 
4.3.  In response to economic growth of almost 1%  in the first quarter of 2013 combined with low 
inflationary pressures and declining private credit, monetary policy was eased somewhat in WT/TPR/G/319 • Dominican Republic 
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  May 2013 with the introduction of a series of measures to stimulate private credit as well as key 
production sectors in the nation's economy. 
4.4.  These measures included cutting the monetary po licy rate by 75 basis points and releasing 
RD$20,189 million in financial reserves to be channelled into productive sectors, in combination 
with an easing of requirements so as to afford smaller borrowers better access to loans. Real and 
nominal interest rates accordingly fell and there was a revival of lending to the private sector, which rose by 15.2% in 2013. The growth of real  activity consequently accelerated and ended the 
year 2013 at 4.8%, a rate that exceeded expectations. 
4.5.  Following the mid-2013 announcement by the Fede ral Reserve of the possible phasing out of 
its quantitative easing programme (QE3), emerging  economies faced greater volatility of exchange 
rates in the region, including that of the Dominican peso. Besides, interest rate differentials 
made local currency investments less attractive and encouraged portfolio substitution. 
These developments constituted risks to the acco mplishment of the inflation target within the 
monetary policy time-frame, which prompted the monetary authorities to take steps to ensure 
price stability and dampen expectations of devaluation. 
4.6.  In this context, the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic decided in August 2013 to raise 
the MPR by 200 basis points from 4.25% to 6.25% annually, and this remained unchanged at the 
end of 2014. The change in the monetary policy st ance led to reduced exchange-rate volatility as 
of September 2013 and also lessened the inflationary  risks deriving from the pass-through effect 
of this indicator on domestic prices. 
4.7.  The effectiveness of the monetary policy implemented during 2013 was reflected in price 
movements, with inflation running at 3.88% for the year 2013, which was slightly below the lower 
limit of the target range of 5% ± 1%  set under the 2013 monetary programme. 
4.8.  Inflation stood at 1.58% at the close of 2014, larg ely influenced by weak external inflationary 
pressure owing to the massive drop in oil prices in the latter part of the year. It is worth noting 
that underlying inflation – inflation associated with monetary conditions – closed the year at 2.97%, a figure comparable to the average 12-month inflation rate of 3.00%, 
which hovered around the lower limit of the target range of 4.5% ± 1% set under the 2014 
monetary programme. 
4.9.  As regards external sector accounts, real exchange rate depreciation over the 
period 2012-2014 was 2.4%, which was reflected in higher levels of exports, tourism and 
remittances, in an international environment that was recovering from the global financial crisis. 
The balance of payments therefore showed a po sitive overall balance in both 2013 and 2014, 
which made it possible to achieve historic highs in international reserve accumulation, surpassing 
amounts equivalent to three months' worth of imports, excluding the free zone sector. 
4.10.  The current account showed a significant improvement as the deficit fell for 
three consecutive years, from 7.5% of GDP to 3.1% in 2014, reflecting a movement towards 
convergence with its historical average. This was the result of the positive overall performance of 
goods exports (chiefly of gold and silver) and high er family remittances and income from tourism. 
4.11.  In a more favourable macroeconomic environment and with greater coordination of 
monetary and fiscal policies, the Dominican Republic is transitioning towards its potential growth 
levels. This performance has helped close the output gap, as borne out by a 1.0% drop in 
joblessness, which went from 7.0% in October 2 012 to 6.0% in October 2014. The situation has 
improved in terms of people living in poverty with a 5.2% reduction in their number. This moved 
the overall poverty rate from 41.0 in 2012 to 35.8 in 2014. Similarly, net international reserves 
are at relatively high levels in terms of the country's historical standards and inflation is being kept low and stable in a climate of relative exchange rate stability, all of which constitute significant 
economic policy achievements. 
4.1  Early repayment of Petrocaribe debt 
4.12.  At the start of 2015, the Dominican Republic se ttled, ahead of schedule, its cumulative debt 
of US$4.027.3 million with the Venezuelan stat e oil company PDVSA, contracted under the WT/TPR/G/319 • Dominican Republic 
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  Petrocaribe agreement. It did so with a paymen t of US $1,933.1 million, thereby reducing the 
balance of the public debt by US$2,094.2 mil lion, or the equivalent of 3.3% of GDP. 
4.13.  The payment to PVDSA was funded by issu ing 10 and 30-year bonds on international 
markets. This transaction amounted to paying off the debt at a price of 48% of its book value, and 
also yielded savings of US$107.1 million at current value and US$562.7 million at present value. 
4.2  National Development Strategy 
4.14.  Law No. 1-12 on the National Development Strategy 2030 (END 2030) and its Implementing 
Regulations were adopted during the current legislative period through Decree No. 134-14 issued 
on 9 April 2014. This provided the Dominican Republic's government sector with a legislative frame of reference for coor dinating its objectives and lines of action in pursuit of a development 
model whose conceptual design and long-term visi on to 2030 are set out in the following except 
from Article 5, Chapter II of END 2030: 
"The Dominican Republic is a thriving country where people live in dignity, 
in accordance with ethical values and in the framework of a participatory democracy 
that guarantees a social and democratic State guided by the rule of law and promotes 
equity, equality of opportunity and social justice. The country manages and exploits 
its resources in order to develop in an innovative, sustainable and territorially 
balanced and integrated manner and participates competitively in the 
world economy." 
4.15.  This long-term plan is based on concluding three major national pacts: the Education Pact, 
the Electricity Pact, and the Fiscal Pact. These reforms will make it possible to devise policies for 
building the development model laid out in END 2030. 
4.16.  Of particular importance in implementing this vision for the country has been the 
earmarking of 4% of gross domestic product (GDP) as investment in education, the negotiation 
and signing of the Education Pact enshrined in  Article 34 of the aforementioned END 2030 and 
completed in the course of 2014, and the launch of arrangements for negotiating the Electricity Pact. 
4.17.  Besides these initiatives, the government sector has extensively adopted tools intended to 
improve the quality of public spending, internal cont rols and social checks and balances as well as 
transparency, all aimed at bringing about new, more efficient, results-oriented and transparent management of the government machinery. 
4.3  Poverty 
4.18.  With a per capita GDP of close to US$6,000, the Dominican Republic is ranked by the World 
Bank as an upper-middle-income country.
3 Over the past decade the country has slowly but 
steadily reduced the number of people living below the poverty line, achieving an appreciable 
reduction in the past year. In terms of the nation al poverty line, the percentage of the population 
living in general poverty declined from 44.2% in 2008 to 41.2% in 2013 (a 3 percentage point 
drop), and in 2014 fell to 35.8% of the population (a 5.4 percentage point fall in just one year, the 
largest since the year 2000). There has been a similar trend with respect to extreme poverty, with the figure moving from 13.4% in 2008 to 10.0% in 2013 and 7.9% in 2014.
4 Income distribution 
has also improved in recent years. In 2014 the Gini index was 0.453, compared to 0.483 in 2012 
and 0.494 in 2008. 
4.19.  As regards the business climate, the World Bank 's "Doing Business" global indicator ranked 
the Dominican Republic 99th of 178 countries evaluated in 2008, while the most recent evaluation 
of 2014-2015 places us 84th among the 189 countries considered. Of the ten headings making 
up this indicator, the best ranking was for "Trading Across Borders", where the Dominican Republic 
                                               
3 The World Bank country income classification was viewed at: http://data.worldbank.org/income-
level/UMC . 
4 Information provided by the Ministry of the Economy, Planning and Development, viewed at: 
http://www.economia.gov.do/mepyd/wp-conten t/uploads/archivos/uaae s/evolucion-pobreza-
monetaria/informe-evolucion-pobreza-2014-final-rev2.pdf . WT/TPR/G/319 • Dominican Republic 
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  placed 24th among the 189 countries considered, a performance comparable to that of OECD 
countries. In that regard, the country ranks second in Latin America, surpassed only by Panama. 
4.20.  In the Global Competitiveness Index prepared by the World Economic Forum, the Dominican 
Republic has lost ground, falling back from 98th of 134 countries in 2008 to 101th of 144 countries 
in 2014–2015, despite having improved its score from 3.72 to 3.82 out of a maximum of 7 during 
the same period. The target set under the National Development Strategy (END) for 2015 is 4.22. The sub-index of this composite indicator in which the Dominican Republic has been performing 
best is "FDI and technology transfer", in which the country currently ranks 29
th among the 
144 economies evaluated. 
4.4  Agricultural sector 
4.21.  The Dominican Republic's agricultural trade policy is shaped by the commitments made 
under the various trade agreements, and this has constituted a new challenge in recent years as 
regards trade opening in the framework of the tariff elimination schedules contained in those agreements. Over the period 2007-2014 the Govern ment therefore concentrated on implementing 
policies and programmes to enhance the sector's productivity and competitiveness, the quality and 
safety of production and to ensure food securi ty, environmental protection and the well-being of 
the Dominican Republic's rural population. 
4.22.  The agriculture sector is the primary source of employment in rural areas, where most of 
the country's poor households are located. Revitalizi ng the agricultural sector is necessary in order 
to drive growth and alleviate poverty. Therefore, one of the objectives of the National Development Strategy 2010-2030 is now to raise the productivity, competitiveness and 
environmental and financial sustainability of agricultural production chains so as to enhance food 
security, take advantage of export potential and generate employment and income for the rural population. 
4.23.   In this connection, it should be noted that the Special Agricultural Development 
Fund (FEDA) was reactivated at the end of 2012. Its institutional and legal framework is based on Law No. 367 of 1972. FEDA's mission is to promote and stimulate sustainable development in rural 
areas in order to improve the sector's competitiveness by strengthening social and production 
infrastructure and improving access to low-interest solidarity loans for producer organizations which, for various reasons, cannot benefit from loans provided by formal entities or commercial banks. The Office of the President of the Repu blic plays a direct role in managing these 
programmes by means of "surprise visits", during which the needs stated by the country's poorest 
producers' associations are assessed and properly addressed. The aims here are to generate rural employment, ensure access to credit, reforest wa tersheds and modernize infrastructure in the 
countryside, thereby raising the standard of living of rural dwellers. So great has been the impact 
of these programmes in reducing rural poverty that in September 2014, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) invited the Dominican Republic to present them as a model to 
be replicated in other countries. 
4.24.  Other development policies are geared towards institutionalizing and consolidating the 
process of reform in the sector, boosting the pr oduction of items for domestic consumption and 
strengthening domestic marketing mechanisms, developing rural infrastructure and services and 
buttressing all institutions, agencies and mechanisms involved in the implementation of sanitary, 
phytosanitary and food safety measures. In this latt er regard and to ensure the availability of safe 
food, the Ministry of Agriculture is implementing  the National Programme for the Monitoring and 
Surveillance of Pesticide Residues in Food (MOV IREA) under which sanitary inspections are carried 
out and the results are followed up in the even t of non-conformity owing to the presence of 
banned pesticide residues in food destined for national consumption or export. The programme 
includes the surveillance and monitoring of pestic ide residues in food (sampling plan), training 
programmes on agricultural and manufacturing best practices, as well as the dissemination of technical information on the importance of food safety and hygiene. 
4.25.  As regards the implementation of the Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, 
and more specifically notifications, the Dominican Republic has made significant headway since its 
last trade policy review. Eighty-two notification s have been submitted regarding laws, decrees, 
resolutions, sanitary and phytosanitary regulati ons (some in draft form), emergency regulations WT/TPR/G/319 • Dominican Republic 
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  and amendments thereto. Similarly, draft laws on  animal and plant health are being prepared so 
as to update laws in force since the 1950s; the relevant notification was made in December 2014. 
4.26.  Since its establishment in 2005, the National Co mmittee for the Application of Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary Measures (CNMSF) has been responsible for implementing, administering and 
monitoring the WTO SPS Agreement as well as recommending suitable measures and processes in 
the framework of its multilateral and regional commitments. Furthermore, the CNMSF web portal 
(http://www.cnmsf.gob.do ) was created and all legislation on animal and plant health as well as 
food safety and security is published there. 
4.27.  Since the previous trade policy review in 2008,  the Dominican Republic has adopted various 
measures to further upgrade formalities and procedures relating to border customs management and trade facilitation. 
4.28.  The Integrated Customs Management System (SIGA) came on stream in 2009 as a 
technological tool that has helped automate good s import and export processes and reduce goods 
clearance costs and times. 
4.29.  SIGA has now been implemented in all the count ry's customs administrations and covers all 
customs regimes and operations. The implementation  of SIGA has made it possible to: submit the 
goods declaration and supporting documentation electronically, and self-assess and pay the legally 
required taxes by the same means; make advance declarations and forward general cargo 
manifests (for import and export) electronically; implement the "paperless customs" concept; allow interested parties to track cargo 24/7 from their office or computer, with no need to be physically present at the customs location where freight is unloaded – this includes electronic 
notification of operators by the Directorate-General of Customs should an incident arise in 
connection with the formalities or should any documents be required, as well as requests for clearance and authorization of release or withdrawal of goods; establish the electronic customs 
file, which obviates the need to submit physical or printed documents to customs administrations, 
it being sufficient to attach and transmit su ch documents digitally via the system; and store 
documents relating to the customs clearance of goods in digital format in the customs database. 
4.30.  The Dominican Republic has developed the Auth orized Economic Operator (AEO) regime as 
a measure complementary to SIGA and in accordance with trade facilitation best practices and the guidelines contained in the SAFE Framework of the World Customs Organization (WCO) to secure and facilitate global trade. The legal framework for AEOs is contained in Decree No. 144-12 
of 22 March 2012. At March 2015, 13 enterprises from various subsectors of the logistics and 
supply chain had already been certified as AEOs. 
4.31.  Under the aforementioned Decree, joining the AEO programme is voluntary and the 
authorization formalities are free of cost. Any natural or legal person, whether national or foreign, 
legally established in the Dominican Republic and participating in the trade logistics chain may apply for certification. AEOs benefit from simplified customs processes and controls. 
4.32.  Parallel to the operator certification process, other initiatives are under way to achieve 
mutual recognition between customs administrations and thereby further facilitate trade for operators involved in import or export transactions. Accordingly, it is expected that a mutual recognition agreement will be signed with the customs administration of South Korea in the 
course of 2015, and bilateral arrangements and meetings have already been initiated with 
the United States customs administration to the same end. 
4.33.  Another crucially important trade facilitation project is the Single Window for Foreign 
Trade (VUCE) created by Decree No. 470-14 of 12 December 2014. This initiative is a tool that 
enables the parties involved in international trade to electronically submit the documentation and information required for goods import and export transactions once only via a single virtual site. 
In the context of the implementation of this initiative, the Dominican Republic devised and 
launched a pilot plan at one of the country's leading ports in December 2014. 
4.34.  On 19 April 2012, the Dominican Republic acce ded to the International Convention on the 
Simplification and Harmonization of Customs Procedures (Revised Kyoto Convention), the general 
annex of which will enter into force on 28 Septem ber 2015. With regard to the specific annexes, WT/TPR/G/319 • Dominican Republic 
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  there will be ongoing notifications to the Convention Management Committee as national laws are 
harmonized with the guidelines of each annex. 
4.35.  The Dominican Republic is now initiating the formalities for the acceptance and ratification of 
the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement and is also taking the steps necessary to create and launch 
the National Trade Facilitation Committee. 
4.36.  In the same vein and as evidence of the Do minican Republic's resolve to implement this 
agreement, the country notified the WTO of the Category A measures being contemplated. 
These are measures that will apply when the ag reement takes effect, and many of which were 
already in force before the above-mentioned noti fication and even before the signing of the 
agreement. They include the availability of info rmation via the Internet, advance rulings, the right 
of appeal or review, electronic payment of  customs duties, and post-clearance audits. 
4.37.  As part of its ongoing reform and upgradin g process, the Dominican customs inaugurated 
and launched the new Customs Laboratory on 19 Fe bruary 2015. The laboratory is designed to 
meet the needs arising in connection with the iden tification of goods to determine their proper 
tariff classification and the taxes to which they may be subject, and of goods whose biological 
origin and organoleptic composition and characteristics must be ascertained. Its purpose in a nutshell is to facilitate trade, as the customs admi nistration will no longer need to turn to other 
laboratories to verify the nature of the products subject to analysis. 
4.38.  This scientific infrastructure will play a vitally important role, inter alia  in environmental 
protection (with respect to ozone, chemical weapons, heavy metals, persistent organic pollutants and pesticides), safeguarding protected animal sp ecies, combating drug trafficking and monitoring 
drug precursors, and is therefore a tool indispensabl e to the security of our borders. It will also 
provide a varied range of services for the chemical analysis of metallic and non-metallic products, products of animal and plant origin, food preparations and alcoholic beverages; for characterizing 
a broad range of substances and organic compounds, both volatile and semi-volatile; for analysing 
and measuring various parameters related to hydrocarbons and the identification of adulterating substances in fuels, biological research, molecular biology, microbiology, metals, minerals, 
electronics and the preparation of samples for analysis, among other things. 
4.39.  The laboratory will also provide services to other government institutions concerned with the 
border management of foreign trade activities directly linked to the clearance of goods, and in particular when it is necessary to analyse export or import products for which these bodies have 
monitoring responsibility. 
4.40.  The Dominican Republic acceded to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade in 1950 
through Resolution 2372 of 29 April 1950 and has been a founding member of the World Trade 
Organization (WTO) since March 1995. The Dominican Republic has taken an active part in 
the Doha Development Round negotiations and in the recent agreements reached at the Bali Ministerial Conference in Indonesia. 
4.41.  The Dominican Republic is furthermore committed to achieving significant progress on the 
three pillars of the negotiations, namely agriculture, non-agricultural market access, and services. The Dominican Republic also underscores the importance of the Post-Bali Work Programme, which will redound to the benefit of all Members of the World Trade Organization, and to that end 
has been playing an energetic role in the ensuin g G-33 and ACP negotiations and in those of the 
Group of Small and Vulnerable Economies. 
4.42.  Trade policy is a priority for the Dominican Republic, since it serves as a tool for promoting 
economic and social development. The WTO is th e main forum for the discussion of this policy, 
as it provides a predictable international legal setting in which to combat protectionism and promote market access – both of which aspects are of crucial importance to a developing country 
such as the Dominican Republic.  
4.43.  Fulfilment of multilateral and bilateral commitments is a top priority for the Dominican 
Republic. Therefore, to ensure that the free zone regime is consistent with the WTO Agreement on 
Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, Law No. 139-11 eliminated the export performance 
requirement contained in Law No. 8-90. WT/TPR/G/319 • Dominican Republic 
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  4.44.  Attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) continues to be of critical importance to the 
Dominican Republic in achieving its development goals and securing a competitive role for the country in the world economy. The Dominican Gove rnment has therefore continued to improve on 
the country's legal environment and business clim ate by effectively implementing its laws on 
investment and incentives and by upgrading its road infrastructure and simplifying and 
streamlining procedures with the launch of th e new One-Stop Investment Facility (VUI). 
4.45.  The VUI was created by Decree No. 626-12 of 10 November 2012 as a focal point for 
implementing the services and formalities necessary for any kind of investment in the 
Dominican Republic. With its launch, the country is striving to provide an effective service that saves time and reduces costs to investors and also enables associated institutions to cut operating expenditure. From 2012 to February 2015 a total of 18 investment projects were channelled 
through the VUI in sectors such as tourism, energy, real estate and medical tourism. 
4.46.  During the period under review, foreign direct  investment (FDI) in the Dominican Republic 
amounted to US$16,743.4 million, representing an annual average of over US$2,350 million. 
The year 2012 witnessed the highest inflow of FD I into the Dominican Republic, which totalled 
US$3,142.4 million.
5 This performance has consolidated the country's position as the principal 
recipient of FDI in the Caribbean, placing it amon g the top ten in the Latin American region in 
various sectors of the national economy. These include trade and industry, mining, real estate, 
electricity, tourism, telecommunications and financing. The main countries of origin of foreign investment during the period under consideration were Canada, the United States, Mexico, Brazil, 
Spain and the United Kingdom, in that order. 
4.47.  The Dominican Republic also has nine agreements on reciprocal investment promotion and 
protection in force. The Dominican Republic has si gned an agreement with Canada to avoid double 
taxation
6 and signed another with Spain on 16 November 2011, which has been ratified by the 
National Congress and promulgated by the Of fice of the President of the Republic.7 Similarly, 
the country is now concluding a process of restructuring and reassessing its investment negotiation policies and its model agreement. The process was based on developments in 
international investment law and on the suggestions contained in UNCTAD's Investment Policy 
Framework for Sustainable Development (IPFSD). 
4.48.  Furthermore, in its efforts to deepen its economic integration with countries of the region, 
the Dominican Republic completed the formulation of a Joint Investment Promotion 
Strategy (JIPS) with Haiti in October 2014 with a view to increasing the number, value and 
socio-economic impact of foreign direct investment projects in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The JIPS will be instrumental in attracting FDI to Haiti and the Dominican Republic and will also 
encourage FDI between Haiti and the Dominican Republic in a relationship that is of mutual benefit 
to both countries. 
4.49.  In the same vein, the Dominican Republic ha s been working to implement the Regional 
Investment Promotion Strategy (RIPS), developed in the framework of the Caribbean Association 
of Investment Promotion Agencies (CAIPA). RIPS is meant to promote the Caribbean as an attractive destination for foreign investment and is being implemented jointly through a work plan that includes training courses, study tours, investment promotion missions, participation in 
sectoral events and investment promotion seminars, among other activities. 
4.50.  Law No. 166-12 was enacted in 2012 to set up the Dominican Quality System (SIDOCAL), 
made up of the Dominican Quality Board (CODOCA), which bears ultimate responsibility for 
formulating, coordinating, organizing and setting policies and guidelines regarding the quality of 
products and services, the Dominican Institute for Quality (INDOCAL), which is responsible for technical standardization (NORDOM)(Dominican Standards), metrology and conformity assessment 
procedures, and the Dominican Accreditation Agency  (ODAC), which is the authority tasked with 
                                               
5 This year includes extraordinary investments in the commercial sector generated from the sale of the 
Cervecería Nacional Dominicana (Dominican National Brewery) for US$1,237 million and part of the sizeable investment by Pueblo Viejo Do minicana Corporation (Barrick Gold) in the mining sector. 
6 Ratified by Congress through Resolution No. 455-76; promulgated by the Executive 
on 23 October 1976. This agreement has been in force since 1 January 1977. 
7 Ratified by the Congress through Resolution No. 115-1; enacted by the Executive on 18 March 2014. 
That agreement has been in force since 25 July 2014. WT/TPR/G/319 • Dominican Republic 
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  recognizing the technical competence of conformity assessment bodies. The formulation of 
technical regulations (mandatory standards) will be the remit of Dominican Ministries, with the advice of INDOCAL for reasons of transparency. 
4.51.  Law No. 100-13 of 30 July 2013 created the Mini stry of Energy and Mining as the body 
responsible for formulating and administering na tional policy on energy and metallic and 
non-metallic mining. Its main functions include th e formulation, adoption, monitoring, evaluation 
and control of policies, strategies , overall plans, programmes, projec ts and services relating to the 
energy sector and its subsectors of electric al energy, renewable energy, nuclear energy, 
natural gas and mining. The Ministry's remit also covers national policy on prospecting, exploitation, processing and beneficiation of metallic and non-metallic minerals, as well as policy on the rational use of energy and the deve lopment of alternative sources of energy. 
4.52.  Decree No. 543-12 created the Vice-Ministry for the Promotion and Development of SMEs, 
under the responsibility of the Ministry of Industry  and Trade, in a move to centralize policies on 
SMEs and to boost this important sector of the nation's economy. The Regulations for 
Law No. 340-06 on Government Procurement were established at the same time. 
4.53.  Decree No. 360-12 was issued in 2012 establishing the One-Stop Facility of the Ministry of 
Public Works and Communications. It will harm onize requirements and avoid duplication of 
documentation and formalities for obtaining building permits and the permits necessary for the 
approval of low-cost housing projects. 
4.54.  Decree No. 164-13 stipulates that public procurement and contracting with Micro, Small and 
Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) must be exclusiv ely for goods and services of national origin, 
manufacture or production, provided that there are MSMEs that can supply them. 
4.5  Tariffs 
4.55.  The Dominican Republic continues to be committed to trade liberalization and the fulfilment 
of commitments assumed multilaterally and throug h bilateral agreements. Accordingly, a 0% MFN 
tariff is applied to 54% of tariff lines, with an effective tariff rate of 3.8%, including agricultural goods. 
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