Analysts: CAFTA-DR must be updated or China will expand its reach

Failing to modernize the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement will allow China to attain a strategic foothold in the region, analysts warned on Wednesday, urging the U.S. and Central American partners to update it and bolster U.S. mineral and agricultural supply chain competitiveness. During a Nov. 19 panel discussion of a new Atlantic Council report on CAFTA-DR modernization, several analysts argued the U.S. should push to update the pact to bolster its influence in Central America and mitigate China’s...