Increased market access through RTAs: the case of the Dominican Republic

This paper investigates and analyses the impact of RTAs on the bilateral trade flows of the Dominican Republic, using macro level data retrieved from the World Bank for the period 2001 to 2015. Specifically, I study the impact of reduction in tariff rates on exports and imports in the Dominican Republic and whether RTAs, in specific the EPA between the EU and DR, was successful. My results indicate that a decrease in the tariff rates leads to an increase in both imports and exports in the DR and that RTAs do play a small significant role.