What is CAFTA-DR? and why did some country joined?

Answer 1

The Dominican Republic–Central America Free Trade Agreement, commonly called DR-CAFTA, is a free trade agreement (legally a treaty under international law, but not under US law). Originally, the agreement encompassed the United States and the Central American countries of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, and was called CAFTA. In 2004, the Dominican Republic joined the negotiations, and the agreement was renamed DR-CAFTA.

Bordering Central American nations not in the agreement include Belize and Panama on the mainland, and Haiti which is on the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic. Panama is currently negotiating with the US on a bilateral free trade agreement, and Belize is a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Haiti was given certain trade preferences with the US under the Haiti Economic Recovery Opportunity Act of 2002 (HERO Act).

DR-CAFTA encompasses the following components:

* Services: all public services are to be open to private investment.
* Investment: governments promise to grant ironclad guarantees to foreign investment.
* Government procurement: All government purchases must be open to transnational bids.
* Market access: governments pledge to reduce and eventually eliminate tariffs and other measures that protect domestic products.
* Agriculture: duty-free import and elimination of subsidies on agricultural products (not including sugar).
* Intellectual property rights: privatization of and monopoly over technological know-how.
* Antidumping rules, subsidies and countervailing rights: governments commit to phase out protectionist barriers in all sectors.
* Competition policy: the dismantling of national monopolies.
* Dispute resolution: the right of transnationals to sue countries in private international courts.
* Environmental protection: the enforcement of environmental laws and improvement of the environment.
* Labor standards: the enforcement of the International Labour Organization's core labor standards.
* Transparency: the reduction of government corruption.
* Test-Data Exclusivity for pharmaceutical corporations

US President George W. Bush announced in January 2002 that CAFTA was a priority in his administration, and Congress gave his administration "fast track" authority to negotiate it. Negotiations began in January 2003, and agreement was reached with El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua on December 17, 2003, and with Costa Rica on January 25, 2004; that same month, negotiations began with the Dominican Republic to join CAFTA. On February 20, 2004, Bush informed the US Congress he supported CAFTA. On May 28, 2004, United States Trade Representative Robert Zoellick, Costa Rican Minister of Trade Alberto Trejos, Salvadoran Economy Minister Miguel Lacayo, Guatemalan Economy Minister Marcio Cuevas, Honduran Minister of Industry and Commerce Norman García, and Nicaraguan Minister of Development, Industry and Commerce Mario Arana signed the 2,400-page document at headquarters of the Organization of American States. Negotiations with the Dominican Republic concluded on March 15, 2004, and a second signing ceremony including Dominican Republic Minister of Industry and Commerce Sonia Guzmán was held on August 5, 2004.

Robert Zoellick and corporate backers such as the US National Association of Wheat Growers claim the agreement will open new markets to US manufacturers, and help the Central American nations modernize their economies, create worker rights protections that will enforce and improve labor laws, and improve environmental standards. DR-CAFTA is endorsed by the U.S. High-Tech Trade Coalition, 52 food and agriculture organizations, Microsoft, the National Association of Manufacturers, the National Foreign Trade Council, Citizens Against Government Waste, the Heritage Foundation, the US Chamber of Commerce, and several Central American environmental organizations including Caribbean Conservation Corporation, Global Alliance for Humane Sustainable Development, and the Honduran Ecologist Network for Sustainable Development.

Some supporters maintain that CAFTA will prevent the People's Republic of China from gaining influence, preventing an encirclement of the US.

Also, most economists, whether liberal or conservative, tend to support free trade. They might disagree on the proper role and size of the government, but free trade is generally considered a win-win situation.[4] The main critique from economists is that bilateral and regional free trade agreements might undermine the push for a global trade agreement through the WTO - which has greater potential for increasing total social welfare since all members of the WTO would be bound by its terms. Some economists, however, point out that the familiar "win-win" free trade model assumes parity between trading partners, lack of subsidies or other market warping policies on either side, and full employment on both sides.

Answer 2

What Is Cafta