Dominican Republic, a hub for the region

By Guzmán Ariza, Attorneys at Law

During the IXth Annual Dominican Week in the United Kingdom, which took place on October 2022 in London, Dominican authorities highlighted the country’s key location at the crossroad of trade in the region, inviting investors and companies to take advantage of these facilities, as well as the fiscal benefits and political stability that the Dominican Republic offers for business.

Since 2013, the Inter-American Development Bank confirmed that the DR had become the hub of the Caribbean basin. By 2016 the country’s six main ports already handled 1.5 billion TEUs, beating regional trends with an 8.3% growth rate. 

Air freight has also experienced sustained growth in the last years. Airports in Dominican Republic have registered more than 80,000 tons of air freight in 2021, a new record that exceeds the previous year by 15%. The Santo Domingo Airport is the main airport for cargo activities in the Dominican Republic. Its location, close to major logistics hubs, 24 free zone parks and more than 160 exporting companies, allows it to quickly and safely connect local producers to global supply chains through eight dedicated air cargo carriers.

This numbers were shared in London by Víctor Bisonó, Minister for Industry and Trade, and Daniel Peña, Deputy Director of Technology of the General Customs Directorate, who named three of the DR logistics advantages:

-World class infrastructure: sea ports, international airports, fully revamped highway system and professional logistic operators.
-New logistics investments and potential for regional logistics centers.
-Bilateral and multilateral trade agreements.

Regarding trade with the United Kingdom, total trade in goods and services (exports plus imports) between the UK and Dominican Republic was £402 million in the four quarters to the end of Q2 2022, an increase of 55.2% or £143 million from the four quarters to the end of Q2 2021.

Of all UK exports to Dominican Republic in the four quarters ending on Q2 2022, £269 million (95.7%) were goods and £12 million (4.3%) were services. In the four quarters to the end of Q2 2022, UK exports of goods to Dominican Republic increased by 144.5% or £159 million compared to the four quarters ending on Q2 2021 while UK exports of services to Dominican Republic decreased by 29.4% or £5 million compared to the four quarters ending on Q2 2021.

Of all UK imports from Dominican Republic in the four quarters ending on Q2 2022, £89 million (73.6%) were goods and £32 million (26.4%) were services. In the same period, UK imports of goods from Dominican Republic decreased by 9.2% or £9 million compared to the same period in 2021 while UK imports of services from Dominican Republic decreased by 5.9% or £2 million during that same period.