US President George W. Bush shakes hands with Dominican Republic President Leonel Fernandez (L) during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC. AFP PHOTO

"It's in the interest of the United States that the Dominican Republic have a strong economy," Bush said Wednesday as President Leonel Fernandez sat beside him in the White House's Oval Office.

Fernandez is seeking an end to delays holding up Cafta, which covers the US, five Central American countries and the island nation of the Dominican Republic. In the closest vote ever for a trade pact, Congress approved the agreement in July.

Full implementation has waited as the White House pushes the countries to tighten patent guidelines for medicines, implement new customs rules and allow unfettered import of American meat.

Fernandez said his country's lawmakers and US negotiators are in the "final phase" of crafting amendments tied to Cafta.

The accord removes duties on 80 percent of the $15 billion in annual US exports to the region and makes permanent the duty-free access to the US that most Central American products already enjoy.

At least $33 billion in traded goods are affected by the pact covering the US, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.

The agreement is already in place for four countries. Costa Rica hasn't approved it yet, and the Dominican Republic has been waiting for more than a year for the US to sign off on entry terms.