On August 5, 2004, the United States signed the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) with five Central American countries (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua) and the Dominican Republic (the Parties). Under the Agreement, the Parties significantly liberalized trade in goods and services.
The CAFTA-DR also includes important disciplines relating to: customs administration and trade facilitation, technical barriers to trade, government procurement, investment, telecommunications, electronic commerce, intellectual property rights, transparency and labor and environmental protection.
The Agreement entered into force for the United States and El Salvador on March 1, 2006; for Honduras and Nicaragua on Aril 1 2006; and for Guatemala on July 1, 2006. The CAFTA-DR entered into force for the Dominican Republic on March 1, 2007, and for Costa Rica on January 1, 2009.
El Salvador Trade & Investment Summary
U.S. goods and services trade with El Salvador totaled an estimated $10.7 billion in 2022. Exports were $6.4 billion; imports were $4.2 billion. The U.S. goods and services trade surplus with El Salvador was $2.2 billion in 2022.
U.S. goods exports to El Salvador in 2022 were $5.0 billion, up 20.0 percent ($825 million) from 2021 and up 60 percent from 2012. U.S. goods imports from El Salvador totaled $2.9 billion in 2022, up 15.3 percent ($384 million) from 2021, and up 12 percent from 2012. The U.S. goods trade surplus with El Salvador was $2.1 billion in 2022, a 27.3 percent increase ($441 million) over 2021.
U.S. exports of services to El Salvador were an estimated $1.5 billion in 2022, 10.2 percent ($138 million) more than 2021, and 54 percent greater than 2012 levels. U.S. imports of services from El Salvador were an estimated $1.3 billion in 2022, 21.8 percent ($236 million) more than 2021, and 1 percent less than 2012 levels. Leading services exports from the U.S. to El Salvador were in the travel, transportation, and financial services sectors. The United States had a services trade surplus of an estimated $169 million with El Salvador in 2022, down 36.7 percent from 2021.
U.S. foreign direct investment (FDI) in El Salvador (stock) was $1.4 billion in 2022, a 0.6 percent decrease from 2021.
No data on El Salvador's FDI in the U.S. are available.
