When US President George W. Bush announced in 2002 that he wanted a new Central American Free Trade Agreement (Cafta) with the five nations of Central America, the Dominican Republic scented a threat.

For 20 years it had enjoyed the benefits of the Caribbean Basin Initiative, a scheme in which the US unilaterally opened its markets to clothing assembled in the Dominican Republic. Excluding oil, it was the fourth largest trading partner in the Americas for the US.