International Trade committee  For a point of clarification, I don't believe I ever said that the U.S.-Jordan free trade agreement could do nothing but help Jordanians. I'm sorry if you perhaps misheard me.

International Trade committee  Regardless, what is important and what did not happen under the U.S.-Jordan free trade agreement, until there was an exposé, was substantial commitment. There needs to be substantial commitment on behalf of both governments to take this agreement seriously. The Bush administration in the United States not only did not really monitor the implementation of the agreement, but in fact sent a letter to the Jordanians that essentially said they were never going to enforce the labour provisions of the agreement.

International Trade committee  No. I think it's unusual that the U.S. would cancel an agreement regardless of the conditions on the ground. There was recently a coup in Honduras, and that wasn't sufficient for the U.S. to consider withdrawing from the Central America free trade agreement. It's very unusual for states to withdraw from international economic agreements.

International Trade committee  This is putting aside any critique I could have of other chapters of the agreement, which I think also have due bearing on the economy and the government being able to properly provide for its citizens.

International Trade committee  I would concur with my colleague. I think the Jordanian governments over the last few years have shown some willingness to improve conditions. Certainly there have been some legal reforms. It works with the ILO in the construction of better work program in the QIZs, the qualifying industrial zones.

International Trade committee  I don't know that I really can or should speak on behalf of Canadian business interests, so I think I am going to take a pass on this question, other than to note that--

International Trade committee  I think the Jordanian market is a very small one for the United States, not really that significant, and actually, at least for Jordanians, their exports dropped precipitously, particularly in the QIZs post-crisis, the qualifying industrial zones, and the industry has been declining for quite some time.

International Trade committee  I'll start first, I guess. It appears that the Canadian government has already made a decision to pursue an approach of engagement rather than non-engagement, and you have, through the agreement on labour cooperation, come up with a series of binding terms and conditions. I think it is incumbent upon the government then to try to ensure that those terms and conditions are met.

International Trade committee  It's not for me to say do the deal or not do the deal. As I said at the beginning, there are a number of other chapters that I think are important to take into consideration beyond the labour chapter. So I'm not taking a position one way or the other. I'm saying you have an agreement.

International Trade committee  Thank you. Yes, I think perhaps the experience of the United States and Peru could be instructive. The agreement on labour cooperation that Canada has negotiated with Jordan resembles in large part--and there are substantial differences--the U.S.-Peru free trade agreement labor chapter.

International Trade committee  I have not personally been to Jordan. I have been to other countries in the region: Kuwait, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates. The AFL-CIO has a sister organization called the Solidarity Center, which has offices around the world and maintains programs in about 60 developing countries.

International Trade committee  Thank you. In response to your question, what you have here, obviously, is a binding labour agreement between Jordan and Canada. When we look to other countries in the region and discuss whether there are better or worse ones than Jordan, certainly there are candidates. I think, obviously, the United Arab Emirates imposes significant restraints and, in fact, outright bans on trade unions.

International Trade committee  --public health or environmental regulations and so forth. Having not read those provisions of the Canada-Jordan FTA, I can't speak to those, other than to note that in the United States we've been working on those issues. I note many similarities between the trade agreements that the U.S. has negotiated and those that Canada has negotiated.

International Trade committee  Again, I think it's a difficult question to answer in the abstract. I think engaging in trade with another country is no guarantee that workers in those countries will be able to benefit and earn their fair share of the gains that may be attendant to that trade. This is why we feel very strongly that it's important that there be strong labour provisions in trade agreements and that those be taken with utmost seriousness.

International Trade committee  First, I think it's a difficult question to answer in the abstract because it really depends on what the trade agreement provides, the model of the trade agreement you have. It is not just labour...but I'll return to that again. A number of things that you find in most contemporary trade agreements have an impact on the ability for citizens to be able to enjoy the fruits of their economic activities, whether it's the investment provisions, intellectual property provisions, which may have an impact on public health and access to medicines, for example, or whether it's investor provisions that have potential to put at risk--