The American Soybean Association (ASA) welcomes the conclusion of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations between the United States and the Dominican Republic that will increase market access opportunities for U.S. farmers. The Dominican Republic will now become part of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) negotiations, which already includes the countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.

"The Dominican Republic is a major customer of U.S. soybean products," said ASA President Ron Heck, a soybean producer from Perry, Iowa. "The Dominican Republic purchases large quantities of soybean meal and soybean oil. U.S. exports of these two soybean products to the Dominican Republic were valued at $88 million in 2002."

Soybeans and soy products are currently at a 40 percent bound duty, but that rate is not applied in all circumstances. For soybeans and meal, the bound duty is not applied, but traded at zero, and the agreement locks in the tariff at zero. For crude soy oil the applied duty was 3 percent and it will be immediately eliminated to zero. For refined soybean oil, the duty applied is 20 percent and the duty will be eliminated over 15 years with safeguards.

Pork products will have a Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) expansion and complete TRQ elimination in 15 years. Most importantly though, the U.S. was not shipping any pork to this market because the Dominican Republic would not issue import licenses.

"This is also good news for pork producers," Heck said. "Now the Dominican Republic has made a commitment to eliminate all non-trade barriers, including import licensing, therefore enabling the U.S. to trade in pork products."

If approved by the U.S. Senate, CAFTA will improve and enhance trade opportunities between the United States and Central America.

"Eliminating tariffs and trade barriers that limit U.S. soybean and livestock exports is a top priority of the ASA," Heck said. "ASA thanks the U.S. Trade Representative and U.S. Department of Agriculture negotiators for listening to producer concerns and achieving an agreement with the Dominican Republic that is beneficial to U.S. soybean producers."