NewsWhore
09-30-2008, 03:00 PM
The DR is the leading US trading partner among the DR-CAFTA member nations and was the sixth largest in Latin America in 2007, according to US Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez. According to Gutierrez, exports from DR-CAFTA nations increased by 18.5% and bilateral trade between the US and Central America towards the DR increased by US$10 billion since the implementation of the agreement. Gutierrez highlighted the DR's trade growth since 2005, adding that it is difficult to find another country with a comparable growth rate during that same period.
However, Gutierrez says the trade deficit between the DR-CAFTA nations and the US was US$3 billion in 2007. The DR shows the highest trade deficit among the agreement's signatories. Gutierrez attributed the large deficit to the decline that textile exports have been experiencing since 2005, saying that this is linked to the shift in apparel manufacturing to China, and not a consequence of DR-CAFTA. Gutierrez argues that the situation would have been worse without the DR-CAFTA agreement.
To give an idea of the strength of the Central American market for the US, he commented that trade with DR-CAFTA countries is almost at the same level as with India and Russia.
He made his comments at a breakfast meeting organized by the Chamber of Commerce of Santo Domingo and as guest speaker at an American Chamber of Commerce luncheon.
DR-CAFTA has seven signatories: the United States, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. The DR-CAFTA region is the 3rd-largest export market in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the 14th-largest market in the world for US exports. Nearly half the region's imports come from the United States.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#2)
However, Gutierrez says the trade deficit between the DR-CAFTA nations and the US was US$3 billion in 2007. The DR shows the highest trade deficit among the agreement's signatories. Gutierrez attributed the large deficit to the decline that textile exports have been experiencing since 2005, saying that this is linked to the shift in apparel manufacturing to China, and not a consequence of DR-CAFTA. Gutierrez argues that the situation would have been worse without the DR-CAFTA agreement.
To give an idea of the strength of the Central American market for the US, he commented that trade with DR-CAFTA countries is almost at the same level as with India and Russia.
He made his comments at a breakfast meeting organized by the Chamber of Commerce of Santo Domingo and as guest speaker at an American Chamber of Commerce luncheon.
DR-CAFTA has seven signatories: the United States, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. The DR-CAFTA region is the 3rd-largest export market in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the 14th-largest market in the world for US exports. Nearly half the region's imports come from the United States.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#2)