weighted score 3.9 · nine dimensions
Country Risk Profile
Dominican Republic
Sourcing risk, regulatory exposure and audit intelligence for Dominican Republic-origin supply chains.
Forced & child labour
4
TVPRA listings for sugarcane and tomatoes. Haitian migrant worker exploitation documented in agriculture and construction. FTZ sectors substantially lower risk.
Worker rights & FOA
4
ILO core conventions ratified. Freedom of association legally protected but enforcement varies. Collective bargaining coverage limited outside FTZs.
OHS & audit transparency
4
FTZ multinationals maintain strong audit programmes (SMETA, ISO 45001). Non-FTZ agricultural and construction sectors have limited audit coverage.
Food & product safety
3
Agricultural exports (tobacco, cocoa, fruit) meet US and EU phytosanitary standards. FDA-regulated medical device FTZs operate to international quality standards.
Environmental & regulatory
4
EUDR exposure limited. No active IUU card. Environmental enforcement outside FTZs is inconsistent. Deforestation pressures exist but are not globally flagged.
Governance & anti-corruption
7
TI CPI 2024: 32/100. Corruption risk elevated in public procurement and customs. Abinader administration has pursued anti-corruption reforms but institutional capacity remains limited.
Tariff & preferential access
2
CARIFORUM EPA provides duty-free or reduced-tariff EU access. DR-CAFTA provides US preferential access. Dual preferential framework is a strong compliance advantage.
Non-tariff barriers
3
No significant NTBs for major export categories. FTZ customs procedures are streamlined. CBAM exposure minimal given export profile.
Supply chain traceability
4
FTZ supply chains are relatively transparent with multinational audit standards. Agricultural supply chains (sugarcane, tobacco) have more limited traceability, particularly for Haitian migrant labour conditions.
Labour & Social Risk
Labour & Social Risk
- TVPRA listings
- The US Department of Labor TVPRA list includes Dominican Republic for sugarcane and tomatoes produced with forced labour and child labour. These listings reflect documented exploitation patterns primarily in agricultural sectors.
- Haitian migrant workers
- Haitian migrant workers in Dominican agriculture, construction, and informal sectors face documented exploitation including wage theft, document confiscation, and restricted freedom of movement. ILO and human rights organisations have reported systemic abuses in sugarcane harvesting.
- FTZ compliance
- Free trade zone operations, particularly multinational-operated facilities in medical devices and electronics, generally maintain strong labour compliance standards including social audits, living wage benchmarks, and occupational health programmes. Compliance variance is significant between FTZ and non-FTZ sectors.
Governance & Trade Access
Governance & Trade Access
- Governance & corruption
- Transparency International CPI score of 32/100 places the Dominican Republic in the lower governance tier. This translates to a Governance dimension score of 7, reflecting elevated corruption risk in public procurement, customs, and regulatory processes.
- CARIFORUM EPA
- The CARIFORUM-EU Economic Partnership Agreement provides preferential tariff access for Dominican exports to the EU. This results in a Tariff dimension score of 2, reflecting strong preferential access relative to MFN competitors.
- Regulatory environment
- Outside the FTZ framework, regulatory complexity and enforcement inconsistency are documented concerns. The FTZ regulatory regime is substantially more predictable and transparent than the general business environment.