1、 https:/crsreports.congress.gov Updated August 22, 2019Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR)Overview CAFTA-DR is a free trade agreement (FTA) among the United States, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic. It el
2、iminates on a reciprocal basis tariff and non-tariff barriers on goods, services, and agriculture, building on U.S. unilateral trade preferences begun under the 1983 Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI). The agreement reinforces U.S. support for trade liberalization and expansion as a foundation of broa
3、der foreign economic, political, and security policies in the region. CAFTA-DR Facts Milestones. Negotiations began in January 2003 with the Dominican Republic joining in January 2004. The CAFTA-DR agreement was signed on August 5, 2004. The Senate passed implementing legislation 54 to 45 on June 30
4、, 2005, with the House following in kind 217 to 215 on July 28, 2005. It was signed into law on August 2, 2005 by President Bush (P.L. 109-53). The agreement entered into force on a rolling basis: with El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Guatemala by July 1, 2006, the Dominican Republic on March 1