U.S.-Dominican Republic & Central America Free Trade Agreement1
Market Access Results
Environmental Goods
Trade and Tariffs
The environmental goods sector includes a variety of products geared toward improving the
environment and human safety. Environmental goods accounted for approximately 4 percent of
total U.S. industrial exports to Central America and the Dominican Republic in 2004, totaling
$314 million. Top U.S. exports in the sector are appliance parts, miscellaneous plastic items,
measuring/checking equipment, and pumps. Costa Rica is the United States’ leading export
market in the sector, accounting for 42 percent of total U.S. environmental product exports to
the region.
Central American and Dominican tariffs on environmental goods range from 0 to 20 percent,
with the average varying by country from 0.8 to 3.6.
Central American and Dominican exports to the United States in this sector were $87 million in
2004, or 2 percent of the region’s total industrial exports to the United States. The Dominican
Republic is the leading exporter of the six countries, accounting for 75 percent of Central
American and Dominican exports in the sector.
The United States applies MFN tariffs on environmental goods of 0 to 8 percent, with an
average of 1.5 percent. The highest tariffs are applied to matting and glassware. All products in
the sector are duty-free under the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) and Caribbean Basin Trade
Partnership Act (CBTPA) tariff preferences, however.
Tariff Elimination
Tariffs will be phased out according to four tariff elimination categories: immediate elimination,
equal cuts over five years, equal cuts over 10 years, and non-equal cuts over 10 years. Duties
on products in the last category will decrease by 2 percent for the first two years, by 8 percent
for the next four years, and by 16 percent for the last four years.
Overall, 77 percent of U.S. exports will receive duty-free treatment immediately upon
implementation of the agreement.