On August 5, 2004, the United States signed the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) with five Central American countries (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua) and the Dominican Republic.

CAFTA-DR is the first free trade agreement between the United States and a group of smaller developing economies. This agreement is creating new economic opportunities by eliminating tariffs, opening markets, reducing barriers to services, promoting transparency, and establishing state-of-the-art rules for 21st century commerce. It is facilitating trade and investment among the parties and furthering regional integration.

Central America and the Dominican Republic represent the third largest U.S. export market in Latin America, behind Mexico and Brazil.

U.S. exports to the CAFTA-DR countries were valued at $26.3 billion in 2008. Combined total two-way trade in 2008 between the United States and Central America and the Dominican Republic was $45.6 billion.