1. How would you describe DR Trade’s platform and the priorities guiding its work in the digitalization of Dominican foreign trade?
I would describe DR Trade as a port community system. Beyond simply digitalizing processes, our objective is to make logistics more efficient throughout the Dominican Republic.
Our platform brings together the different actors in the sector, including importers, exporters, customs agents, the country’s main ports, Haina and Caucedo, and shipping lines. By creating a community in which these stakeholders can interact, we aim to streamline processes and make international trade more efficient.
2. How does DR Trade connect and digitalize the import and export chain, and what has changed since the pandemic?
I think we can distinguish between the world before the pandemic and the world after it. Before the pandemic, logistics was often a relatively overlooked part of international trade. Although it was one of the most important components of the supply chain, it tended to operate behind the scenes, with processes that remained highly traditional.
The pandemic changed that situation. The logistics sector played a critical role in moving vaccines and food and in helping international trade resume. This experience demonstrated the need for systems capable of automating and optimizing the entire logistics process.
We are no longer talking simply about transferring paper documents into digital formats. The real objective is to make processes more efficient, eliminate bottlenecks, improve security and accelerate the movement of goods.
Technology has also created opportunities to make better business decisions. Since 2020, companies have accumulated documented processes and data that can support more accurate projections. Previously, businesses often relied on statistics about their competitors and their own inventory to anticipate trends. Today, technology can help them evaluate different scenarios, including pandemics, wars, oil shortages and geopolitical conflicts affecting suppliers.
This information is valuable because logistics provides a comprehensive view of the economy. It encompasses practically everything that is imported and exported, while data from land transport and logistics centres can also help us understand domestic consumption.
For example, the Dominican Republic has approximately 10 to 11 million inhabitants and receives a similar number of tourists annually. When we also consider cross-border population movements, the effective consumer market is considerably larger than the resident population alone. International companies considering the Dominican Republic should therefore look at the broader market opportunity when planning their distribution strategies.
Ultimately, digitalization, automation and data analysis are helping businesses operate more efficiently while supporting economic planning at the national level.
3. How does DR Trade help position the Dominican Republic as a Caribbean logistics hub, with faster processing times and lower costs?
To become a logistics hub, a country must do more than import and export goods for its domestic market. It must also serve as a bridge for other countries. To achieve this, it needs centralized information, efficient processes and extremely agile cargo clearance.
We work closely with customs authorities and port operators to minimize clearance times and reduce the amount of time goods remain in port yards. Our platform gives users greater autonomy by allowing them to consult information about their containers, access port invoices, make payments and schedule inspections when suitable appointments are available.
In effect, we put the port yard in the palm of the user's hand by centralizing information and making it accessible through a single platform.
This is particularly valuable for customs brokers managing numerous clients and containers across different ports. Rather than navigating multiple systems and making countless individual inquiries, they can access the information they need through a centralized interface.
The platform also benefits finance departments. Through our payment-receipt module, companies can review historical port payments, support financial and operational audits, and analyze logistics costs.
Our role is therefore not simply to introduce technology. It is to make the entire logistics community more connected, autonomous and efficient.
4. What concrete benefits does DR Trade provide to importers and exporters in terms of efficiency, real-time visibility, delivery times and costs?
For importers, visibility begins even before a container arrives in the Dominican Republic. We receive the vessel manifest, allowing logistics departments and customs brokers to consult information about incoming containers and identify potential holds or other issues affecting clearance.
This reduces the need to contact ports repeatedly to ask where a container is or what must be done to release it. Users can consult the relevant information directly through the platform and manage the necessary procedures more efficiently.
There has been a substantial improvement in cargo clearance times. According to the figures I cited, the time required by a customs broker or a large importing company to release a container decreased from more than 10 days to approximately 5.7 days.
This improvement also reflects the contribution of other systems operated by the public sector, including customs platforms supporting declarations, permits and risk management. When public-sector systems are combined with our platform, which focuses primarily on the private sector, the overall reduction in processing times can be significant.
In business, time is money. Reducing clearance times also reduces costs.
This is particularly important for refrigerated containers, which incur expenses related to electricity, insurance and maintaining the required temperature while they remain in port. The longer a container stays there, the higher these costs become.
Companies such as Bravo and Goya are among the users that make extensive use of our platform because they need to move imported goods quickly, efficiently and securely.
Ultimately, our objective is to provide businesses with the visibility and traceability they need to know where their cargo is and how it will be released.
5. How does DR Trade guarantee neutrality, transparency and cybersecurity when handling sensitive logistics data?
Cybersecurity is a priority for us. We have a cybersecurity process, supported by external third parties, that helps ensure our systems are not centralized in a way that creates risks for individual partners or other stakeholders.
We regularly update our cybersecurity procedures and have placed particular emphasis on data governance. In 2025, we updated our data-use policies in recognition of the growing importance of information and the opportunities and risks associated with artificial intelligence.
Our approach is to ensure that data is encrypted, cannot be used to benefit individual partners, and is not transferred to artificial intelligence language-processing models without the data owner's consent.
Our external cybersecurity process provides an annual assessment of potential vulnerabilities, areas for improvement and best practices, both in the Dominican Republic and internationally.
Furthermore, as part of the DP World group, DR Trade must comply with the group's applicable standards. This provides an additional framework for maintaining security and ensuring that sensitive information is handled responsibly.
Trust is essential for a platform that connects multiple public- and private-sector actors. Our responsibility is to provide an environment in which participants can exchange and consult information while protecting their data.
6. What role do trade facilitation and public-private cooperation play in improving competitiveness and attracting investment to the Dominican Republic?
Trade facilitation has been one of the areas in which the Dominican Republic has made considerable progress. I previously worked with the National Trade Facilitation Committee, which was established in connection with the country's implementation of the World Trade Organization's Trade Facilitation Agreement.
The committee brings together public institutions and private-sector representatives to examine the supply chain, identify bottlenecks and develop measures to improve trade processes. Its work covers areas such as process automation, electronic documentation, permits and risk profiling.
One of its strengths is the participation of different government agencies alongside private-sector associations. This structure allows proposed measures to be reviewed and developed collaboratively, helping ensure that the needs of businesses are considered when public policies are implemented.
The Dominican Republic has made significant advances in facilitating trade, and I believe these improvements help explain why the country has become increasingly attractive for regional logistics and investment.
However, facilitating trade does not mean abandoning controls. Efficiency must go hand in hand with security and effective risk management.
Technology helps customs authorities assess risks by examining not only a container or its contents, but also the broader context surrounding the shipment and the parties involved. Cross-referencing information can help identify potential irregularities and determine which shipments require additional scrutiny.
This approach strengthens the country's ability to combat smuggling while maintaining efficient commercial processes.
Geographically, the Dominican Republic is strategically positioned between North, Central and South America. Our ambition is to capitalize on this advantage by developing a regional logistics hub that is both efficient and secure.
We also believe that cooperation can help Dominican businesses grow. Rather than viewing foreign investment and larger competitors exclusively as threats, companies can develop partnerships and synergies that allow them to expand their services and reach international markets.
7. How can logistics and commercial cooperation with the Gulf countries be strengthened, and what opportunities does the Dominican Republic offer investors?
I believe Gulf countries have an opportunity to apply the expertise and capabilities they have developed in their home markets to other regions. The Dominican Republic offers an attractive location from which to serve multiple distribution markets, potentially with different cost structures and access to additional commercial routes.
Ports do not simply move merchandise; they move data, information and opportunities.
This is an important principle when considering the potential for international logistics cooperation. Investment in a port can create opportunities that extend well beyond cargo handling, supporting logistics centres, training, technology and broader economic development.
DP World Dominicana is a particularly relevant example of this approach. Its presence demonstrates how international expertise and investment can contribute to the development of logistics infrastructure in the Dominican Republic.
There are also opportunities in free trade zones, where investors may benefit from incentives and tax exemptions depending on their activities and location. The country has established capabilities in sectors such as medical devices and automotive manufacturing, while additional opportunities are emerging in technology, semiconductor-related manufacturing, electronics and data centres.
The Dominican Republic can serve as a connection point between different regions, with relatively short transit times to destinations including Miami, New York, Mexico, the Emirates and Spain. As investment increases, additional maritime routes can be established, giving businesses more options for moving their goods.
For Gulf investors, the opportunity is to combine their experience, technology and capital with the Dominican Republic's geographical position, existing infrastructure and human talent.
The objective is to create a mutually beneficial relationship in which international investors gain access to new markets while contributing to the country's economic development.
8. What message would you like to convey to Gulf News readers about the Dominican Republic's digital transformation and its relationship with Dubai?
We have learned a great deal from Dubai's experience, particularly its best practices, technological capabilities and approach to developing an integrated logistics ecosystem.
Through our relationship with DP World Dominicana, we have been able to learn from Dubai's experience and use that knowledge to help shape our own development. Dubai has served as a model, showing us how a strong logistics ecosystem can be built and how technology can support that ambition.
At the same time, each country has its own culture, characteristics and way of doing business. Cooperation is therefore a two-way process. While we have learned from the Emirates, our partners have also gained a better understanding of Dominican and Latin American business culture.
The Dominican government has made efforts to strengthen these ties through missions to Dubai and initiatives involving customs authorities and the Ministry of Industry and Commerce. We welcome continued cooperation, investment and knowledge-sharing.
DP World Dominicana is an example of what this relationship can achieve. It operates in the Dominican Republic with Dominican workers and talent, and the expertise developed locally has also enabled Dominican professionals to contribute to operations in other markets.
That is an important part of the story: international investment can build local capabilities that subsequently become valuable beyond the country itself.
We want to continue developing this relationship, attracting investment and expanding our role as a regional logistics and commercial hub.
The Dominican Republic is a small island with significant opportunities for connection. By combining our geographical advantages, local talent and growing infrastructure with international expertise, we can become an increasingly competitive partner for businesses seeking to access markets across the Americas and beyond.
