DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Since April 1997
Pillar Telecom infrastructure & competition |
Indicator Signature of the WTO Telecom Reference Paper
WTO Telecom Reference Paper
The Dominican Republic has appended the World Trade Organization (WTO) Telecom Reference Paper to its schedule of commitments.
Coverage Telecommunications sector
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Since May 1998
Pillar Telecom infrastructure & competition |
Indicator Presence of an independent telecom authority
General Telecommunications Law No. 153-98 (Ley General de Telecomunicaciones No. 153-98)
According to Art. 76 of the General Telecommunications law, the Dominican Telecommunications Institute (INDOTEL), the executive authority for the supervision and administration of services in the telecommunications sector, is independent from the government in the decision-making process.
Coverage Telecommunications sector
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Since December 2013
Pillar Cross-border data policies |
Indicator Conditional flow regime
Personal Data Protection Law No. 172-13 (Ley No. 172-13 sobre Protección de Datos Personales)
Under Art. 80 of Law No. 172-13, personal data may only be transferred internationally if the owner of the data expressly authorises such transfer or if such transfer is necessary for the performance of a contract between the owner of the data and the person or entity responsible for the treatment of the personal data. Data transfer is considered a form of 'treatment' of personal data under Art. 6.20 of Law.
Coverage Horizontal
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
N/A
Pillar Cross-border data policies |
Indicator Participation in trade agreements committing to open cross-border data flows
Lack of accession to agreements with binding commitments to open data transfers across borders
The Dominican Republic has not acceded to any agreement with binding commitments to open data transfers across borders. However, Art. 13.2 of DR-CAFTA provides that "Each Party shall ensure that enterprises of another Party may use public telecommunications services for the movement of information in its territory or across its borders and for access to information contained in databases or otherwise stored in machine-readable form in the territory of any Party". Notwithstanding the foregoing, "a Party may take such measures as are necessary to: (a) ensure the security and confidentiality of messages; or (b) protect the privacy of non-public personal data of subscribers to public telecommunications services, subject to the requirement that such measures are not applied in a manner that would constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination or disguised restriction on trade in services".
Coverage Horizontal
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Since December 2013
Pillar Domestic data policies |
Indicator Framework for data protection
Personal Data Protection Law No. 172-13 (Ley No. 172-13 sobre Protección de Datos Personales)
Personal Data Protection Law No. 172-13 provides a comprehensive framework for data protection.
Coverage Horizontal
Sources
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Since May 1992
Pillar Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in sectors relevant to digital trade |
Indicator Nationality/residency requirement for directors or managers
Law No. 16-92: Labour Code and Complementary Norms (Ley No. 16-92: Código de Trabajo y Normas Complementarias)
Art. 144 of Law 16-92 establishes that the administrators, managers, directors and other persons exercising administrative or management functions must preferably be of Dominican nationality. On the other hand, Art. 135 establishes that at least 80% of the total number of workers of a company must be composed of Dominicans. Art. 136 establishes that the salaries received by the Dominican workers of a company must amount, as a whole, to at least 80% of the value corresponding to the payment of all the personnel. Exempted from the provisions of this article are the salaries received by workers who perform technical, managerial or directorial tasks.
Coverage Horizontal
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Since May 2000
Pillar Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) |
Indicator Practical or legal restrictions related to the application process for patents
Industrial Property Law No. 20-00 (Ley No. 20-00 sobre Propiedad Industrial)
According to Art. 148 of Law No. 20-00, when the applicant or the holder of an industrial property right has its domicile or headquarters outside the Dominican Republic, it must have a representative domiciled in the country who can be notified of all resolutions, correspondence, writings and any other documentation emanating from the National Office for Industrial Property.
Coverage Horizontal
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Since May 2007
Pillar Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) |
Indicator Participation in the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
The Dominican Republic is a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).
Coverage Horizontal
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Since August 2000
Pillar Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) |
Indicator Copyright law with clear exceptions
Law No. 65-00 on Copyright (Ley No. 65-00 sobre Derecho de Autor)
The Dominican Republic has a copyright regime under the law No. 65-00. However, the exceptions do not follow the fair use or fair dealing model, therefore limiting the lawful use of copyrighted work by others. Arts. 30-44 list the exceptions, which include the reproduction of: news that have the character of mere press information; speeches made in deliberative assemblies or public meetings, works for educational or scientific purposes, among others.
Coverage Horizontal
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Reported in 2020, last reported in 2025
Pillar Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) |
Indicator Enforcement of copyright online
Reported high levels of digital copyright piracy
It is reported that copyright infringement in the Dominican Republic, particularly through signal piracy, online distribution, and web‑based streaming, is widespread and remains insufficiently addressed by the government. Software piracy alone is estimated at approximately 75%.
Coverage Horizontal
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Since January 2006
Pillar Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) |
Indicator Adoption of the WIPO Copyright Treaty
WIPO Copyright Treaty
The Dominican Republic has adopted the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty.
Coverage Horizontal
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Since January 2006
Pillar Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) |
Indicator Adoption of the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty
WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty
The Dominican Republic has adopted the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty.
Coverage Horizontal
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
ITA signatory?
I
II
Pillar Tariffs and trade defence measures applied on ICT goods |
Indicator Effective tariff rate on ICT goods (applied weighted average)
Effective tariff rate to ICT goods (applied weighted average)
3.52%
Coverage rate of zero-tariffs on ICT goods (%)
73.32%
Coverage: ICT goods
Sources
- http://wits.worldbank.org/WITS/
- https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/brief_ita_e.htm#:~:text=ITA%20participants%3A%20Australia%3B%20Bahrain%3B,%3B%20Jordan%3B%20Korea%2C%20Rep.
- https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/booksp_e/ita20years_2017_full_e.pdf
- https://web.archive.org/web/20220120054410/https://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2016/april/tradoc_154430.pdf
- https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/inftec_e/itscheds_e.htm
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
N/A
Pillar Tariffs and trade defence measures applied on ICT goods |
Indicator Participation in the WTO Information Technology Agreement (ITA) and 2015 expansion (ITA II)
Lack of participation in the Information Technology Agreement Expansion Agreement (ITA II)
The Dominican Republic is a signatory of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Information Technology Agreement (ITA) of 1996, but is not a signatory of its 2015 expansion (ITA II).
Coverage ICT goods
Sources
- https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/brief_ita_e.htm#:~:text=ITA%20participants%3A%20Australia%3B%20Bahrain%3B,%3B%20Jordan%3B%20Korea%2C%20Rep.
- https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/booksp_e/ita20years_2017_full_e.pdf
- https://web.archive.org/web/20220120054410/https://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2016/april/tradoc_154430.pdf
- https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/inftec_e/itscheds_e.htm
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