Against a backdrop of ongoing bilateral agricultural trade negotiations with the United States, the Dominican Republic has rolled back a set of rice import tariff regulations that had been in place since 2024, opening a new chapter in trade policy alignment under the longstanding Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA).
On September 9, 2026, Dominican President Luis Abinader signed Decree 635-26, formally striking down the 2024-era Decree 693-24. That 2024 policy established a tiered tariff system for rice imports falling within and outside the country’s World Trade Organization import quota: imports within the quota faced a 20% tariff, while any shipments exceeding the WTO limit were hit with a steep 99% tariff. The regulation also carved out a special 23,300-metric-ton zero-tariff quota exclusively for U.S. rice, with all U.S. imports beyond that volume subject to the same 99% Most Favored Nation tariff applied to over-quota shipments from other origins.
When it was introduced in 2024, the tariff framework was framed as a protective measure for domestic Dominican rice growers. It was designed to shield local producers from anticipated market shifts under DR-CAFTA, while also shoring up domestic production and advancing national food security goals.
The decision to repeal the policy comes at a key moment, as Dominican and U.S. officials hold discussions about updating market access terms for U.S. agricultural goods to bring them into full compliance with DR-CAFTA commitments. Just two days after Abinader signed the new decree, on September 11, 2026, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative publicly called for the 2024 decree to be scrapped, arguing that its terms directly conflicted with the market access obligations the Dominican Republic agreed to under the free trade pact.
The tariff dispute was also a central topic during a recent virtual meeting between senior U.S. trade officials and Dominican Foreign Minister Víctor-Ito Bisonó, where delegates covered a broader agenda of bilateral economic and trade ties, including preliminary talks on a updated reciprocal trade agreement.
Under the terms of the new decree, the entire tiered tariff structure established in 2024 is eliminated. The regulation also mandates that multiple Dominican government bodies – including the Ministries of Finance and Economy, Agriculture, and Industry, Commerce and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, alongside the General Directorate of Customs and other relevant agencies – take the necessary steps to implement the new policy immediately.