U.S. drops tariffs on Dominican agricultural and industrial exports

Santo Domingo.- The United States government has eliminated tariffs on more than 1,000 products by modifying Executive Order 14257—an adjustment that directly benefits the Dominican Republic, which exports about US$581 million in these goods to the U.S. market. The measure, signed by President Donald Trump and effective November 13, updates the Harmonized Tariff Schedule for imported goods.

Dominican Minister of Industry, Commerce and MSMEs, Víctor “Ito” Bisonó, said the decision represents significant savings for Dominican exporters, especially producers of cocoa, gold, medicines, semiconductors, avocados, bananas, coffee, tomatoes, mangoes, guavas, coconuts, plantains, papayas, and other items. He added that the government will continue negotiations with U.S. agencies to seek zero tariffs for additional Dominican exports.

In the order, President Trump explained that after reviewing trade data, domestic production capacity, and ongoing negotiations with trading partners, he deemed it “necessary and appropriate” to expand the list of products exempt from the reciprocal tariff established under the original executive order. The new decision particularly removes certain agricultural goods from the list of tariff-affected products.