Mechanism
Decreto 324-24 is the founding instrument of the Dominican Republic's bid to join the CHIPS Act era supply-chain realignment as a near-shore ATP (Assembly, Test, and Packaging), PCB, and passive-component hub. The decree operates on two levels:
1. Political-executive commitment: Declaring semiconductors "alta prioridad nacional" creates an inter-ministerial coordination mandate (MICM-led) and signals to FDI promoters (ProDominicana) that the government will backstop incentive negotiations with free-zone operators and international anchors.
2. Regulatory alignment via Law 8-90: The decree explicitly links to the existing Free Trade Zone incentive framework (Law 8-90), which eliminates 100% of income tax, export tax, ITBIS, import duties, and customs rights on machinery, raw materials, and equipment. This is the tariff/fiscal carveout that makes DR cost-competitive against Vietnam and Malaysia for US-nearshoring ATP work.
ENFIS five-pillar structure (launched 19 August 2025):
- Pillar I — Industrial Development: Upgrading free-zone infrastructure, creating semiconductor-specific industry clusters, attracting ATP, PCB, and passive-component suppliers into the DR free-zone network (523 enterprises, ~186,000 employees as of 2024).
- Pillar II — Governance and Policy: Streamlining regulations for semiconductor operations, creating a National Advanced Manufacturing Cabinet, aligning national industrial strategy with CHIPS Act ITSI-fund partner-economy status.
- Pillar III — Workforce and Human Capital: STEM curriculum expansion, technical training institutes, international academic partnerships (including Purdue University tie-up announced alongside ENFIS).
- Pillar IV — Investment Attraction and Promotion: Free-zone incentive packaging, IDIPYME export-promotion tools, ProDominicana-led FDI campaigns targeting US Tier-1 semiconductor OSATs.
- Pillar V — Innovation and R&D Ecosystem: Technology-park development, IP frameworks, R&D tax incentives to graduate DR beyond pure assembly into design-adjacent activities.
CHIPS Act ITSI-fund context: The Dominican Republic is one of seven economies formally named as partner economies under the CHIPS Act §103 International Technology Security and Innovation (ITSI) Fund — alongside Costa Rica, Panama, Mexico, Vietnam, Philippines, and Kenya. The US Commerce Department and MICM signed a Semiconductor MOU in August 2024 that Decreto 324-24 directly operationalises; ENFIS is the implementing strategy document. The ITSI-fund designation creates a formal channel for US technical assistance, export-licensing facilitation, and co-investment promotion.
Downstream implications
- First Dominican Republic filing in the IPTM register: DR had zero prior actions despite being the largest free-zone manufacturer in the Caribbean (US$8.6B FZ exports in 2024, US$417M FDI inflow to free zones), and despite its ITSI-fund partner-economy status since 2024.
- Near-shore corridor first-mover signal: Combined with Costa Rica's Hoja de Ruta de Semiconductores (also 2024), the Caribbean/Central American near-shore corridor is now institutionally anchored as a viable alternative to East Asian ATP for US-preferenced supply chains under CHIPS Act FY25-26 appropriations.
- FDI leverage on existing base: Current DR free-zone electronics manufacturers — Skyworks Solutions, Microchip Technology, ON Semiconductor-Sanken, Eaton, Linear Microsystems — operate in sensor, PCB, and passive-component segments adjacent to ATP. ENFIS targets pulling these up the semiconductor value chain.
- Law 8-90 incentive durability: The DR free-zone regime predates CHIPS Act; ENFIS converts a legacy fiscal framework into a semiconductor-specific marketing instrument aligned with US industrial-policy funding cycles.
- Severity watch: Severity set at 3 (foundational declaration + national strategy + ITSI-fund operationalisation). Would re-rate to 4 if a specific production-linked incentive (PLI-style) scheme or confirmed anchor OSAT entry (e.g., ASE, Amkor, UTAC) is announced under ENFIS implementation.
Open questions
- Does the National Advanced Manufacturing Cabinet (ordered by Decreto 324-24) have a formal decree establishing its membership, mandate, and meeting cadence? No secondary text has been located.
- ITSI-fund disbursement to DR: has CHIPS Act §103 funding been formally appropriated and routed to DR technical-assistance programmes as of H1 2026?
- Has any Tier-1 OSAT (ASE, Amkor, UTAC, JCET) signed an investment agreement under ENFIS Pillar IV?
- ENFIS Pillar III / Purdue University partnership: formal MOU text and scope not yet located.