{ "id": "RL32322", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "RL32322", "active": false, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 309298, "date": "2005-10-24", "retrieved": "2016-04-07T19:29:17.469029", "title": "Central America and the Dominican Republic in the Context of the Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) with the United States", "summary": "This report explains the conditions in five countries in Central America (Costa Rica, El\nSalvador,\nGuatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua) and one country in the Caribbean (Dominican Republic) that\nwill be partners with the United States in the U.S.-Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade\nAgreement (DR-CAFTA) signed in August 2004. All of the signatory countries except Costa Rica\nhave approved the pact. The agreement will enter into force for the approving countries on an agreed\ndate, tentatively January 1, 2006. In U.S. approval action, the House and Senate passed the required\nimplementing legislation ( H.R. 3045 ) on July 27 and 28, 2005, and the President signed\nit into law ( P.L. 109-53 ) on August 2, 2005. \n The DR-CAFTA partners are basically small countries with limited populations and economic\nresources, ranging in population from Costa Rica with a population of 4.1 million to Guatemala with\na population of 12.6 million, and ranging in Gross National Income (GNI) from $4.5 billion for\nNicaragua to $26.9 billion for Guatemala. While El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua\nexperienced extended civil conflicts in the 1970s and 1980s, all of the countries have had\ndemocratically elected presidents for some time, and several of the countries have experienced recent\nelectoral transitions. For each of the countries the United States is the dominant market as well as\nthe major source of investment and foreign assistance, including trade preferences under the\nCaribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) and assistance following devastating hurricanes.\n The Bush Administration and other proponents of the pact argue that the agreement will create\nnew opportunities for U.S. businesses and workers by eliminating barriers to U.S. goods and services\nin the region. They also argue that it will encourage economic reform and strengthen democracy in\naffected countries. Many regional officials favor the pact because it provides new access to the U.S.\nmarket and makes permanent many of the temporary one-way duty-free trade preferences currently\nin place. Critics argue that the environmental and labor provisions are inadequate, that the pact will\nlead to the loss of jobs for workers in the United States and for subsistence farmers in Central\nAmerica, and that provisions relating to textiles/apparel and sugar will be harmful to U.S. producers. \nIn the context of legislative action, the Bush Administration promised to limit sugar imports, to make\nsome adjustments for textile industries, and to support multi-year assistance to strengthen regional\nenforcement of labor and environmental standards.\n Related information may be found in CRS Report RL31870 , The Dominican\nRepublic-Central\nAmerica-United States Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA), by J.F. Hornbeck; CRS Report RL32110 , Agriculture in the U.S.-Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade\nAgreement ,\nby Remy Jurenas; CRS Report RS22164 , DR-CAFTA: Regional Issues , by Clare\nRibando; and CRS Report RS22159 , DR-CAFTA Labor Rights Issues , by Mary Jane Bolle.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL32322", "sha1": "df1e1da0c20ed813b7215380eaaf5987854567a9", "filename": "files/20051024_RL32322_df1e1da0c20ed813b7215380eaaf5987854567a9.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL32322", "sha1": "931582b2dcaa827781f64f3f540656a143ee1ee5", "filename": "files/20051024_RL32322_931582b2dcaa827781f64f3f540656a143ee1ee5.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metacrs7993/", "id": "RL32322 2005-08-04", "date": "2005-08-04", "retrieved": "2005-12-21T17:18:00", "title": "Central America and the Dominican Republic in the Context of the Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) with the United States", "summary": "This report explains the conditions in five countries in Central America (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua) and one country in the Caribbean (Dominican Republic) that will be partners with the United States in the U.S.-Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) signed in August 2004. In U.S. approval action, the House and Senate passed the required implementing legislation (H.R. 3045) on July 27 and 28, 2005, and the President signed it into law (P.L. 109-53) on August 2, 2005. The agreement will enter into force for the other countries when their legislatures have approved it. The legislatures of El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala have approved the pact so far.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20050804_RL32322_12631380691eddd5993cdb6df838762ed35b5ebf.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20050804_RL32322_12631380691eddd5993cdb6df838762ed35b5ebf.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Trade", "name": "Trade" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "U.S. - Dominican Republic - Central America Free Trade Agreement", "name": "U.S. - Dominican Republic - Central America Free Trade Agreement" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Trade agreements - U.S. - Central America", "name": "Trade agreements - U.S. - Central America" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "International affairs", "name": "International affairs" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc809076/", "id": "RL32322_2004Nov12", "date": "2004-11-12", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "Central America and the Dominican Republic in the Context of the Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) with the United States", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20041112_RL32322_ba28773fa131d2dcc06bfa08277666d3ebbcb6ca.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20041112_RL32322_ba28773fa131d2dcc06bfa08277666d3ebbcb6ca.html" } ], "topics": [] } ], "topics": [ "Economic Policy", "Foreign Affairs", "Immigration Policy", "Industry and Trade", "Intelligence and National Security", "Latin American Affairs" ] }