DR-CAFTA, Textiles, and Apparel

Publication Date: May 2005

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Trade

Type:

Abstract:

The Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA), signed on August 5, 2004, by the United States, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic is a comprehensive and reciprocal trade agreement that, if ratified by all parties, would govern market access of goods, services trade, investment, government procurement, intellectual property, labor, and the environment. With respect to textiles and apparel, DR-CAFTA is comparatively less restrictive than most other trade agreements and trade preference programs regarding what qualifies for duty-free access to the United States. On the whole, U.S. apparel manufacturers favor approval of the agreement; textile manufacturers appear to have differing opinions; most textile and apparel importers support approval. Apparel makers in the Dominican Republic and Central America see it as helpful in their competition with Chinese-made goods. This report will not be updated.