The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Dominican Republic concluded an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union. As of January 1, 2008, all CARICOM/DR goods will be entitled to duty-free and quota-free access to the European Union, with a temporary exception for rice and sugar. As stressed by Dominican Foreign Relations Minister Carlos Morales Troncoso, the EPA covers not just goods, but services, investment, and trade-related issues such as innovation and intellectual property, completely liberalizing trade between the signatory countries. The agreement also provides for a special immigration plan by which European companies can hire professional, technical or qualified personnel, including doctors, nurses, lawyers and consultants among others, for up to six months of work.

Signatory countries from the Caribbean Community are Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago and the Dominican Republic. Participating countries from the European Union include the following: Ireland, Belgium, Italy, the Czech Republic, the UK, Germany, Denmark, Hungary, Estonia, Greece, Spain, France, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Malta.