The Dominican Republic strengthens its customs controls against forced labour after a 12.5% US duty
A few hours before an additional 12.5% US customs duty took effect, the Dominican president signed a decree on 24 July 2026 giving national customs the power to investigate, hold and refuse entry to goods suspected of being produced through forced labour. A public register of banned products has been created.
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President Luis Abinader signed Decree 502-26 on 24 July 2026, a few hours before an additional 12.5% US customs duty on Dominican exports took effect at midnight, under the same US Section 301 action on forced labour affecting 60 trading partners, including China itself, which is also subject to 12.5%.
The decree gives the Dirección General de Aduanas, the Dominican customs authority, the power to investigate, hold as a precaution and refuse entry to goods suspected of being produced through forced labour. The Ministry of Labour is responsible for the technical assessment of each case. A public register of banned products has been created, and importers must provide detailed information on the traceability of their supply chain.
Dominican law already prohibited the import of goods made with forced labour in principle, but Washington judged enforcement insufficient. A bill tabled in August 2026 by a Dominican senator aims to go even further, in the hope of avoiding around 180 million dollars a year in additional duties on Dominican exports to the United States.
For an importer, any shipment, including goods of Chinese origin or containing Chinese components, can now be flagged, held and inspected by Dominican customs on forced-labour grounds, regardless of its usual tariff classification.
What it changes for an importer
For a client importing from China into the Dominican Republic, or re-exporting from that country, documentation of the production chain, factory, origin of materials, working conditions, is no longer just a compliance file: it can determine whether a container is cleared or held. We prepare this documentation from the sourcing stage onwards, so that a request from Dominican customs does not hold up a shipment already at sea.
The certifications your country requires
In US dollars, on quotation, added to the same core service.
Latin America Import documents
On quotationIn US dollars
Certificate of origin (on the free trade agreement form where one exists, as with Chile, Peru, Costa Rica or Ecuador), invoice and packing list with the required particulars, translations into Spanish or Portuguese.
- List of the documents your customs authority asks for
- Certificate of origin requested in China on the right form
- Commercial invoice and packing list with the required particulars
- Review of the documents before shipment
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