Dominican Republic manages import duties and U.S. tariff negotiations

The Dominican Republic’s customs and import framework is governed by Law No. 168-21 and Regulation No. 755-22. The Dirección General de Aduanas (DGA) administers customs procedures, while the Dirección General de Impuestos Internos (DGII) manages domestic consumption taxes. Determining the final tax burden requires identifying tariff classifications, customs values, country of origin, and applicable taxes such as ITBIS or the Selective Consumption Tax.

Concurrently, the Dominican government is addressing a 12.5% tariff imposed by the United States administration, which affects Dominican exports, particularly from free trade zones. This rate is higher than the 10% applied to competing nations. Proposals for negotiation include seeking a modification under Section 301 to ensure the tariff is only applied to foreign value-added, excluding the cost of raw materials sourced from the United States.