At the Second Dominican Republic International Investment and Nearshoring Forum, hosted by Banco Promerica in Santo Domingo, President Luis Abinader laid out the central economic priorities of his administration Wednesday, placing a swift reciprocal tariff agreement with the United States at the top of his policy agenda. The initiative is designed to lock in advantageous terms for Dominican trade, while protecting the long-standing incentive framework that supports the country’s critical free trade zones and draws new foreign capital to the nation.
Abinader confirmed that negotiations are already underway under the direct leadership of Foreign Minister Víctor “Ito” Bisonó, with the full weight of the Dominican government focused on reaching a final deal as quickly as possible. A core non-negotiable principle for the administration, he emphasized, is preserving the current set of incentives for free trade zones, a major pillar of the country’s economy. Policy consistency, he argued, is the foundation of building lasting investor confidence, and the government has no plans to roll back the pro-business framework that has served the sector well in recent years.
Against a backdrop of persistent global economic and regulatory headwinds that have put particular pressure on free trade zone operations worldwide, Abinader called for coordinated collaboration between the public sector, domestic private enterprises and international investors to navigate these challenges. To strengthen the Dominican Republic’s competitive edge, the administration has prioritized expanding and upgrading the national workforce, a key selling point for global companies looking to nearshore operations.
The president highlighted rapid growth in technical education over his term: the National Institute of Professional Technical Training (Infotep) has expanded its footprint from just 8 training facilities in 2020 to 64 campuses across the country today. Working alongside the Dominican Institute of Technology (ITLA) and other higher education institutions, the government has also integrated specialized training in high-demand fields including digital technology, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence to complement traditional technical and university degree programs.
Streamlining regulatory processes to cut red tape for business formation and operation has been another key reform. Abinader noted that the Dominican Republic has already slashed the timeline for securing all necessary investor permits to roughly 12 days, a dramatic improvement that compares favorably to Mexico’s processing time of more than 100 days. Even so, he stressed that the government will continue working to reduce wait times further to improve the country’s investment appeal.
Despite a wave of global economic disruptions over the past several years – from the COVID-19 pandemic to the war in Ukraine and shifting U.S. trade policy – Abinader reported that foreign direct investment into the Dominican Republic has continued on an upward trajectory. He projected that investment levels in 2025 will outperform 2024, building on the steady growth the country has already recorded.
Looking ahead, the Dominican Republic is shifting its investment attraction strategy to target higher-value industries, with a specific focus on technology, semiconductor assembly and medical device manufacturing. Abinader reiterated that sustained progress in education, infrastructure, transportation and regulatory certainty will be critical to upgrading the country’s investment climate to meet the needs of these advanced sectors. He pointed to key ongoing infrastructure projects that are already improving business access: the Santiago Monorail, which directly connects the capital city to its local free trade zone, and the recently completed Avenida Ecológica, which has cut travel time and improved logistics access to the key Caucedo port.
The administration’s long-term ambition, Abinader confirmed, is to address all remaining bottlenecks to investment growth and create the conditions to double the country’s current annual investment levels by 2036.
The forum, which brought together leading international business leaders, included dedicated discussions on emerging opportunities in medical devices, electronics and advanced manufacturing. Attendees highlighted the Dominican Republic’s existing advantages – including its established free trade zone regulatory framework, growing pool of technically trained workers, strategic logistics positioning, and untapped potential to develop local supplier networks and specialized industrial clusters – as key factors that position the country to attract significant new investment in coming years.