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Central America - Dominican Republic - United States |
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Background and Negotiations |
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On 24 September 2001, five Central American countries - Costa Rica,
El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua -- met with the United States on the sidelines of the
IX meeting of the FTAA Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC) to discuss possibilities for deepening their
bilateral trade and investment relations. On 27 November technical discussions towards this end were
initiated under the framework of the Central America - U.S. "Trade Policy Dialogue." On
16 January 2002 the U.S. President announced the intent to explore the possibility of negotiations
towards a free trade agreement with Central America. The U.S. Congress was formally notified of the
intention to begin free trade negotiations on October 1, 2002.
The official launch of the negotiations was announced in Washington D.C. by the U.S. Trade
Representative and Ministers from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua on
January 8, 2003 and negotiations between the United States and four of the Central American
countries concluded on December 17 2003. An agreement was reached between Costa Rica and the
United States on 25 January 2004.
Draft texts of the Central America - U.S. Free Trade Agreement were made available to the public
on 28 January 2004. On 20 February the Office of the U.S. President notified Congress of the intent
to enter into a free trade agreement with Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.
In March 2004 side letters, addressing issues related to agriculture, the environment, financial
services, investment, services/investment, telecommunications and textiles, were released. The
U.S.-Central America FTA was signed on 28 May 2004.
Documents relating to the CAFTA negotiations |
| 16 December 2003 |
Press release: Costa Rica to continue negotiating with the U.S. in January   |
| 08-12 December 2003 |
San José, Costa Rica. IX negotiating round |
| 10-14 November 2003 |
Washington, D.C. Extraordinary negotiating session |
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Draft SPS and TBT chapter |
| 20-24 October 2003 |
Houston, USA. VIII negotiating round |
| 15-19 September 2003 |
Managua, Nicaragua. VII negotiating round |
| 28 July - 01 August 2003 |
New Orleans, USA. VI negotiating round |
| 16-20 June 2003 |
Tegucigalpa, Honduras. V negotiating round |
| 12-16 May 2003 |
Guatemala, Guatemala. IV negotiating round |
| 31 March - 04 April 2003 |
San Salvador, El Salvador. III negotiating round |
| 24-28 February 2003 |
Cincinnati, USA. II negotiating round |
| 27-31 January 2003 |
San José, Costa Rica. I negotiating round |
Documents relating to the technical meetings |
| 16 September 2002 |
Washington, D.C., USA. Fifth technical meeting |
| 10-11 July 2002 |
Washington, D.C., USA. Fifth technical meeting |
| 22-23 May 2002 |
Antigua, Guatemala. Fourth technical meeting |
| 18-19 April 2002 |
San José, Costa Rica. Third technical meeting |
| 25-26 February 2002 |
Washington, D.C., USA. Second technical meeting |
| 16 January 2002 |
Announcement of U.S. intent to explore a free trade agreement with the countries of Central America |
| 27 November 2001 |
San Salvador, El Salvador: First technical meeting |
| 24 September 2001 |
High-level meeting between Central America and the United States |
| Source: Comex, Costa Rica; Office of the President of the United States; Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) |
Dominican Republic joins CAFTA negotiations
In November 2003, the United States announced that the Dominican Republic would be joining the negotiations. On 12 January 2004, the United States and the Dominican Republic initiated the first of three rounds of negotiations designed to integrate the Dominican Republic into the CAFTA. Negotiations concluded on 15 March 2004 and the draft texts of this agreement were released on 9 April.
Central American countries and the Dominican Republic, which have a previous Free Trade Agreement, signed in 1998, continued to negotiate on certain matters. The Central America - Dominican Republic - United States Free Trade Agreement (DR - CAFTA) was signed on August 5, 2004 in Washington, D.C. The draft texts of the agreement were released to the public the same day.
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Technical Assistance |
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As part of the negotiations, National Action Plans for trade capacity building were developed for each of the Central American countries. These National Action Plans define needs and identify priorities for trade-related technical assistance. These documents were submitted to government agencies, international organizations and corporations and NGOs with instruments and facilities to address these needs. Documents were also prepared outlining sources of trade capacity building assistance.
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Draft Texts |
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Cooperation Agreements |
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On 18 February 2005 the seven CAFTA members signed two agreements aimed toward facilitating the implementation of environmental provisions within their free trade agreement. Chapter
17 (Environment) of the Dominican Republic - Central America -
United States Free Trade Agreement (D.R. - CAFTA) establishes that
"each Party shall ensure that its laws and policies provide for and
encourage high levels of environmental protection, and shall strive
to continue to improve those laws and policies." The Agreement
establishes an Environmental Affairs Council (ECA) to oversee the
implementation and review the progress under this Chapter. The
chapter also establishes provisions for public participation, both
in the ECA and through national efforts, including a public submissions process that allows members of the public to raise
concerns if they believe that a Party is not effectively enforcing
its environmental laws.
The Understanding Regarding the Establishment of a Secretariat for
Environmental Matters, aims to administer this public
submissions mechanism. The Understanding sets up a secretariat to
review these submissions and develop a factual record in meritorious
cases. The Secretariat for Central American Organization (SIECA) is
requested to create a new unit to serve as the CAFTA-DR Secretariat
within the Environment Chapter.
The other document, the Agreement
on Environmental Cooperation, aims to guide long-term
environmental cooperation. The ECA provides a comprehensive
framework for environmental cooperation among the countries. It
includes first-time provisions for establishing benchmarks to
identify short-, medium- and long- term goals for improving
environmental protection and provides for independent monitoring of
progress in meeting these benchmarks. It establishes an
Environmental Cooperation Commission.
| Documents relating to the Environmental Cooperation Agreement |
| 06 October 2006 |
Secretariat on environmental issues initiates operations at SIECA headquarters |
| 18 February 2005 |
Signing of the Agreement on Environmental Cooperation and understanding for the establishment of an environmental secretariat within the framework of the DR-CAFTA |
| Source: Ministerio de Comercio Exterior de Costa Rica (COMEX) |
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Entry into Force |
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Article 22.5 of the Agreement states that
"(a) This Agreement shall enter into force on January 1, 2005, provided that the United States and one or more other signatories notify the Depositary in writing by that date that they have completed their applicable legal procedures.
(b) If this Agreement does not enter into force on January 1, 2005, this Agreement shall enter into force after the United States and one or more other signatories make such a notification, on such later date as they may agree."
The Depositary, as provided in Article 22.8, is the Organization of American States (OAS).
El Salvador was the first D.R.-CAFTA country to ratify the agreement, passing it through Congress on
17 December 2004. Honduras ratified the agreement on 3 March 2005 and Guatemala on 10 March 2005. The U.S. Congress approved the agreement in July and the President signed it into law on 2 August 2005. Nicaragua ratified the agreement on 10 October 2005. On 6 September 2005, the Chamber of deputies of the Dominican Republic approved the D.R.-CAFTA and sent the agreement to the president for signature. On 28 February 2006 the President of the United States issued Proclamation 7987 implementing the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement.
CAFTA entered into force for El Salvador on March 1, 2006, for Honduras and Nicaragua on April 1, 2006 and for Guatemala on July 1, 2006. On 01 March 2007 the agreement entered into force for the Dominican Republic.
Costa Rica held a referendum so that its citizens could choose whether to approve D.R.-CAFTA. On 7 October 2007, Costa Ricans voted in favor of the agreement. On 30 September 2008 the CAFTA-DR countries agreed to extend the deadline for Costa Rica to implement the agreement to 1 January 2009, pursuant to its Art. 22.5.2 .
On 14 November 2008 Costa Rica approved final bill to implement CAFTA-DR. The Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) entered into force for Costa Rica on 1 January 2009.
Guatemala -Legislation related to the implementation of DR-CAFTA |
| 26 May 2006 |
Decreto 11-2006. Reformas legales para la implementación del TLC República Dominicana-Centroamérica-Estados Unidos  |
Honduras - Legislation related to the implementation of DR-CAFTA |
| 24 March 2004 |
Decreto No 16-2006. Ley de Implementación del TLC República Dominicana- Centroamérica-Estados Unidos |
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Implementation of the
Agreement |
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Article
19.1 of the Agreement establishes
a Free Trade
Commission made up of cabinet-level representatives
or their designees. The Commission is responsible
for supervising the implementation and further
elaboration of the Agreement; to seek to resolve
disputes arising under the Agreement; to supervise
the work of committees and working groups
established under the Agreement and to consider any
other matters that may affect the operation of the
Agreement.
The first meeting of the CAFTA-DR Free Trade Commission was held in San Salvador, El Salvador, from
22-23 February 2011. The Second meeting was held in Miami, Florida, USA, on 23 January 2012.
On November 1, 2020, the decisions of the Free Trade Commission that amend specific rules of origin of
Annex 4.1 became effective.
The CAFTA-DR Agreement provides, in Chapter
17 (Environment), for the establishment of an
Environmental Affairs Council (ECA) to oversee the implementation and review the progress under this
Chapter.
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Articles
and Related Studies |
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| June 2018 |
Ministerio de Economía, Guatemala.
Evaluación de las relaciones comerciales entre Guatemala y los Estados Unidos de América
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| June 2017 |
Ministerio de Economía, Guatemala.
Evaluación de las relaciones comerciales entre Guatemala y los Estados Unidos de América
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| May 2016 |
Ministerio de Economía, Guatemala.
Evaluación de las relaciones comerciales entre Guatemala y los Estados Unidos de América
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| June 2015 |
Ministerio de Economía, Guatemala.
Evaluación de las relaciones comerciales entre Guatemala y los Estados Unidos de América
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| June 2014 |
Ministerio de Economía, Guatemala.
Evaluación de las relaciones comerciales entre Guatemala y los Estados Unidos de América
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| November 2013 |
World Bank. Costa Rica five years after CAFTA-DR: a focus on selected areas |
| June 2013 |
Ministerio de Economía, Guatemala. Evaluación de las relaciones comerciales entre Guatemala y los Estados Unidos de América |
| May 2011 |
Ministerio de Economía, Guatemala. Evaluación de las relaciones comerciales entre Guatemala y los Estados Unidos de América |
| April 2005 |
COMEX, Costa Rica. La Dimensión Laboral en Centroamérica y la República Dominicana, construyendo sobre el progreso: Reforzando el cumplimiento y potenciando las capacidades. |
| Marzo 2005 |
Office of the United States Trade Representative. Section by Section Summary of the Agreement. |
| February 2005 |
Office of the United States Trade Representative. Short Summary of the CAFTA. |
| October 2004 |
COMEX, Costa Rica. Documento Explicativo sobre el Tratado de Libre Comercio República Dominicana-Centroamérica-Estados Unidos: Preguntas Frecuentes Volumen No 7 |
| September 2004 |
COMEX, Costa Rica. Costa Rica y el TLC: Preguntas frecuentes sobre el TLC. |
| September 2004 |
MINEC, El Salvador. Documento Explicativo del TLC. |
| August 2004 |
Office of the United States Trade Representative. US Potential Economywide and Selected Sectoral Effects. |
| June 2004 |
MINEC, El Salvador. Perspectiva ante las negociaciones del TLC CA-USA. |
| January 2004 |
COMEX, Costa Rica. El ABC del TLC. |
| January 2004 |
MINEC, El Salvador. Documento Explicativo del TLC. |
| 2004 |
MINEC, El Salvador. Beneficios del TLC. |
| 2004 |
MINEC, El Salvador. Participación Cuidadana: Transparencia en las Negociaciones del TLC CA-USA. |
| 2004 |
MINEC, El Salvador. Las oportunidades del libre comercio y las PYMES. |
| October 2003 |
COMEX, Costa Rica. Tratado de Libre Comercio República Dominicana-Centroamérica-Estados Unidos. |
| July 2003 |
COMEX, Costa Rica. Información,consulta y participación con la sociedad civil costarricense en la negociación del TLC. |
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Recent Developments |
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Contents |
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