Order Code RL32322 CRS Report for Congress Received through the CRS Web Central America and the Dominican Republic in the Context of the Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) with the United States Updated August 4, 2005 K. Larry Storrs, Coordinator Specialist in Latin American Affairs Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division Clare Ribando, Lenore Sek, Mark P. Sullivan, Maureen Taft-Morales, and Connie Veillette Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress Central America and the Dominican Republic in the Context of the Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) with the United States Summary This report explains the conditions in five countries in Central America (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua) and one country in the Caribbean (Dominican Republic) that will be partners with the United States in the U.S.-Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) signed in August 2004. In U.S. approval action, the House and Senate passed the required implementing legislation (H.R. 3045) on July 27 and 28, 2005, and the President signed it into law (P.L. 109-53) on August 2, 2005. The agreement will enter into force for the other countries when their legislatures have approved it The legislatures of El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala have approved the pact so far. The DR-CAFTA partners are basically small countries with limited populations and economic resources, ranging in population from Costa Rica with a population of 4.0 million to Guatemala with a population of 12.3 million, and ranging in Gross National Income (GNI) from $4.0 billion for Nicaragua to $23.5 billion for Guatemala. While El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua experienced extended civil conflicts in the 1970s and 1980s, all of the countries have had democratically elected presidents for some time, and several of the countries have experienced recent electoral transitions. For each of the countries the United States is the dominant market as well as the major source of investment and foreign assistance, including trade preferences under the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) and assistance following devastating hurricanes. The Bush Administration and other proponents of the pact argue that the agreement will create new opportunities for U.S. businesses and workers by eliminating barriers to U.S. goods and services in the region. They also argue that it will encourage economic reform and strengthen democracy in affected countries. Many regional officials favor the pact because it provides new access to the U.S. market and makes permanent many of the temporary one-way duty-free trade preferences currently in place. Critics argue that the environmental and labor provisions are inadequate, that the pact will lead to the loss of jobs for workers in the United States and for subsistence farmers in Central America, and that concessions in the textile/apparel and sugar sectors will be harmful to U.S. producers. In the context of legislative action, the Bush Administration promised to limit sugar imports, to make some adjustments for textile industries, and to support multi-year assistance to regional countries to strengthen enforcement of labor and environmental standards. Related information may be found in CRS Report RL31870, The Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA), by J.F. Hornbeck; CRS Report RL32110, Agriculture in the U.S.-Dominican Republic- Central American Free Trade Agreement, by Remy Jurenas; and CRS Report RS22164, DR-CAFTA: Regional Issues, by Clare Ribando. Contents Introduction ......................................................1 Regional Characteristics ........................................1 Relations with the United States ..................................4 DR-CAFTA Status and Major Issues...............................5 Costa Rica ......................................................13 Political Situation .............................................13 Economic Conditions..........................................14 Relations with the United States .................................15 DR-CAFTA-Related Issues.....................................17 Dominican Republic ..............................................22 Political Situation .............................................22 Economic Conditions..........................................24 Relations with the United States .................................26 DR-CAFTA-Related Issues.....................................27 El Salvador......................................................31 Political Situation .............................................31 Economic and Social Conditions.................................32 Relations with the United States .................................34 DR-CAFTA-Related Issues.....................................36 Guatemala ......................................................40 Political Background ..........................................40 Socio-Economic Background ...................................41 Relations with the United States .................................43 DR-CAFTA-Related Issues.....................................47 Honduras .......................................................53 Political Situation .............................................53 Economic Conditions..........................................54 Relations with the United States .................................55 DR-CAFTA-Related Issues.....................................58 Nicaragua.......................................................64 Political Situation .............................................64 Economic Conditions..........................................67 Relations with the United States .................................68 DR-CAFTA-Related Issues.....................................71 Appendix 1. U.S. Economic and Military Assistance to Central America and the Dominican Republic, FY1977-FY2004 .....................75 Appendix 2. Map Showing DR-CAFTA Pact Partners....................76 List of Tables Table 1. Central American Countries and the Dominican Republic: Size, Population, and Major Economic Variables, 2003 ................2 Table 2. Central American Countries and the Dominican Republic: Key Development Indicators, 2003 ................................3 Table 3. Central American Countries and the Dominican Republic: Total Trade and Trade with the United States, 2004 ...................5 Central America and the Dominican Republic in the Context of the Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) with the United States Introduction1 On October 1, 2002, the Bush Administration notified Congress of the intention to enter into negotiations leading to a free trade agreement with five Central American countries (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua). Negotiations for a U.S.-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) were launched in January 2003 and were completed on December 17, 2003, although Costa Rica withdrew from the negotiations at the last minute. Negotiations with Costa Rica continued in early January 2004, and were completed on January 25, 2004. On February 20, 2004, President Bush notified Congress of his intention to sign the CAFTA pact, and it was signed on May 28, 2004. In August 2003, the Administration notified Congress of plans to negotiate a free trade agreement with the Dominican Republic and to incorporate it into the free trade agreement with Central American countries. Negotiations with the Dominican Republic began in January 2004, and were completed on March 15, 2004. The new pact, to be known as the United States-Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA), was signed by all seven countries on August 5, 2004.2 Regional Characteristics The term “Central America” is often used as a geographical term to apply to all of the countries in the Central American isthmus, and it is also used to apply to five core countries — Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica — long associated with each other. These five countries were linked during colonial times and formed a confederation for a number of years following independence in 1821. Two other countries in Central America have distinctive backgrounds. Panama was a part of Colombia until it achieved independence in 1903, and had special links to the United States because of the Panama Canal. Belize was a British territory known as British Honduras until it achieved independence in 1981, and has close ties to the English-speaking countries of the Caribbean Community (Caricom). 1 Prepared by K. Larry Storrs, Specialist in Latin American Affairs. 2 For details on the DR-CAFTA agreement, see CRS Report RL31870, The Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA), by J.F. Hornbeck. CRS-2 In a first wave of regional integration in the 1960s, the five core countries formed the Central American Common Market (CACM) in 1960 to encourage economic growth. The CACM performed extremely well in the first decade of its existence, but it largely collapsed in the 1970s and 1980s as the countries, many with military-controlled regimes, were embroiled in long and costly civil conflicts that exacerbated the region’s economic and social problems. A second wave of regional integration developed in the 1990s, following peace initiatives in El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Guatemala that eventually led to peace accords and democratically elected governments. In 1991 and 1993, the presidents of the Central American