U.S. Relations with the Dominican Republic

The United States and the Dominican Republic share a strong partnership based on democratic values and historic, shared bonds of friendship and community.  The United States established diplomatic relations with the Dominican Republic in 1884.  U.S. relations with the Dominican Republic are productive and wide-ranging. The United States has a strong interest in a democratic, stable, and prosperous Dominican Republic.

The Dominican Republic is an important partner in Caribbean and hemispheric affairs due to its large economy and population, its significant bilateral trade with the United States, and its proximity to the United States.  The two governments cooperate in the fight against trafficking in illegal substances and persons, the extradition of fugitives, and measures to hinder irregular migration.

The Dominican Republic has experienced robust economic growth over the past 25 years, and its economic recovery since the COVID-19 pandemic has been one of the strongest in the region.  According to an October 2023 World Bank report, the growth of the Dominican economy was expected to slow from 4.9 percent in 2022 to 3.1 percent in 2023.  Despite a falling poverty rate, income inequality remains high, and the country faces considerable obstacles to sustaining such robust growth over the long term, including the uneven quality of the country’s education system, the inability of the health system to adequately respond to the population’s needs, and severe inefficiencies in the energy sector.  While there have been efforts to address corruption, improving transparency is a priority in order to consolidate the country’s democratic gains.  The U.S. government works with Dominican authorities to address these issues, as well as with local and international partners to strengthen institutional and technical capacity in the Dominican Republic.

U.S. Assistance to the Dominican Republic

U.S. assistance helps build accountable and transparent institutions that can better serve the needs of the Dominican people and strengthen democratic governance.  As the leading foreign investor in the Dominican Republic, U.S. businesses benefit from improved business conditions created by this assistance.  As one of 13 Caribbean partners under the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI), the Dominican Republic benefits from U.S. assistance focused on disrupting illicit trafficking, strengthening citizen security, combatting corruption, and preventing youth crime and violence.  Bilateral programs provide additional assistance to help build law enforcement, citizen safety, and rule of law capacity.  This helps safeguard the broader Caribbean region, which is a transit point for goods and people headed to the United States.  The Dominican Republic also benefits from the U.S.-Caribbean Partnership to Address the Climate Crisis (PACC 2030).

The United States is committed to supporting the Dominican Republic to advance our shared values of freedom, democracy, and respect for human rights and labor rights.  U.S. assistance stimulates income generation opportunities for women, youth, small businesses, and rural communities; promotes English language learning and increased educational and cultural opportunities through exchange programs; improves the protection of the environment; enables local organizations to promote ecological and cultural tourism; and furthers the equitable provision of quality health and education services.

Bilateral Economic Relations

In addition to benefiting from our unique, shared bonds of friendship, community, and proximity, the Dominican Republic is an important partner in Western Hemisphere affairs due to its standing in the Caribbean as the second-largest economy (behind Cuba) and third-largest country in terms of population (behind Cuba and Haiti).  The United States and the Dominican Republic are working together to promote inclusive economic growth, including through the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity, launched in 2023 by President Biden and 11 regional partners, and a wide range of development programs.

The two countries are parties to the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR), along with five Central American countries.  This agreement has created new economic opportunities by eliminating tariffs, opening markets, reducing barriers to services, and promoting transparency.  The United States and Dominican Republic also signed a historic Open Skies Agreement on August 2, 2024, which will expand our strong economic and commercial partnership and create new opportunities for airlines, travel companies, and customers.  The Development Finance Corporation is providing a $200 million direct loan to Banco Popular Dominicano to support the institution’s lending to small businesses and women entrepreneurs – groups often underserved by traditional financial institutions –  as well as a $42 million loan portfolio guarantee with Banco de Reservas that will catalyze up to $84 million to help women succeed as entrepreneurs and increase their economic empowerment (with a focus on the underserved Southwest corridor), while also supporting climate adaptation and clean energy.

The Dominican Republic’s Membership in International Organizations

The Dominican Republic and the United States belong to a number of the same international organizations, including the United Nations, Organization of American States, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and World Trade Organization.  In 2022, the United States and the Dominican Republic joined other governments at the Ninth Summit of the Americas, where countries pledged bold hemispheric commitments on health and resilience, sustainability, digital transformation, the clean energy transition, and democratic governance.  The United States looks forward to supporting the Dominican Republic’s agenda for the Tenth Summit of the Americas that the Dominican Republic will host in Punta Cana in 2025.