International Trade committee  Yes, good morning, I can hear you.

International Trade committee  Thank you very much. I appreciate the opportunity to participate in this session. I will speak about the topic from the perspective of someone who studies the political economy of trade and investment. I'll start with the question of whether the expansion of trade and foreign i

International Trade committee  I have argued that the idea that the FTA will bring jobs and assure prosperity to Honduras is not a substantiated claim. Indeed, the idea that Canadians can help the most needy people in Honduras through this FTA is a public relations message, nothing more. Moreover, an FTA would

International Trade committee  Thank you for the question. As I expressed, I don't think the proposed FTA is going to help to address the tremendous need in Honduras. Actually, what are required are policies to strengthen state initiatives in the social sector, including education, training, promotion of smal

International Trade committee  Thank you for the question. There's a premise in your question that I do not accept, which is that the way to engage at the level of trade and investment is through the particular FTA that is being proposed. I disagree with that. Brazil rejected the idea of a free trade area o

International Trade committee  Yes I have.

International Trade committee  Yes, I will be very glad to do so.

International Trade committee  If we had in front of us a trade and development agreement that placed the same priority on advancing the rights of indigenous peoples in Honduras, community rights, environmental rights, and the right to clean water, that would create mechanisms for aggrieved communities to addr

International Trade committee  I think it's a question of....

International Trade committee  I think we need to start by thinking what kind of economic development will Honduras have? Currently, foreign investment in Honduras is very important. For example, in the apparel sector, labour-intensive investment is crucial for the country, but the conditions under which this

International Trade committee  If I may jump in there?

International Trade committee  May I respond to your question, please?

International Trade committee  I want to reiterate what has already been said to this committee, that Honduras enjoys wide market access for its export products. It's one of the countries in the Americas with the most market access, according to the data from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the C

International Trade committee  —but are talking about how the benefits.... You seem to be insisting that the only way we can engage with this country is through this particular trade agreement, which does not address any of those issues.

International Trade committee  They have excellent market access—