President Bush Notifies Congress of His Intent to Sign CAFTA with the Dominican Republic

(The U.S. had previously concluded CAFTA negotiations with El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica (the CAFTA countries). President Bush notified Congress on February 20, 2004 of his intent to sign an FTA with these five CAFTA countries. See ITT's Online Archives or 02/26/04 news, 04022605, for previous BP summary.)

On March 24, 2004, President Bush notified Congress of his intent to sign a free trade agreement (i.e., CAFTA) with the Dominican Republic. (Under the provisions of the Trade Act of 2002's Bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority Act of 2002 (TPA), the President is required to notify Congress at least 90 days in advance of signing such an agreement.)

Under TPA procedures, President Bush would be able to sign the CAFTA with El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica as early as approximately May 20, 2004, but would not be able to sign the CAFTA with the Dominican Republic until approximately June 24, 2004. U.S. government sources state that it is not yet known whether President Bush will go ahead and sign CAFTA with El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica and then, at a later date, sign the CAFTA with the Dominican Republic, or whether the U.S. would wait and sign the CAFTA with all of the countries at the same time.

After CAFTA is Signed, Next Step is Enactment of Implementing Legislation

Once the CAFTA is signed by all the signatories (including the Dominican Republic), the next step would be for the President to formally submit to Congress the draft CAFTA, the implementing legislation for CAFTA, and a statement of administrative action.

Sources note that the President is expected to consult with Congress on the timing of the submission of the draft CAFTA, implementing legislation, and statement of administrative action and that there is no deadline for when the submission of these documents must occur.

Once the President has submitted the draft CAFTA, implementing legislation, and statement of administrative action, Congress would then have 90 legislative days to consider the implementing legislation. According to Congressional sources, the CAFTA implementing legislation could not be amended and would be subject to a straight "up or down" vote by the House and Senate.

If the CAFTA implementing legislation is passed by the House and Senate, it could then be signed into law by the President, who would subsequently issue a proclamation implementing the CAFTA.

Congressional Schedule, Fall 2004 Elections, Etc. May Impact CAFTA Implementation Date

One U.S. government source has opined that if the Bush Administration can complete the above steps in 2004, it is possible that CAFTA could be implemented as early as January 1, 2005.

However, various sources have noted that Congress' schedule, the fall 2004 elections, and other factors could adversely impact the goal of implementing the CAFTA on January 1, 2005.

(See ITT's Online Archives or 03/18/04 news, 04031815, for BP summary on the conclusion of negotiations to integrate the Dominican Republic into the CAFTA.

See ITT's Online Archives or 02/26/04 news, 04022605, for BP summary on President Bush's notification to Congress of his intent to sign CAFTA.

See ITT's Online Archives or 02/04/04 news, 04020405, for BP summary on the availability of the draft CAFTA text.)

Presidential notification (FR Pub 03/26/04) available at

http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2004/pdf/04-7017.pdf.

Presidential letter to Congress (dated 03/24/04) available at

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/03/20040325-6.html.