International Trade committee  Let me say that I don't have the statistics for the garment industry. Worldwide, generally, the majority of workers in the garment industry are often women. I believe the 14% of participation is about Jordanian women, and I do think it's cultural and religion-based. It's one of the lowest rates of participation of women in the world, in the lowest 10 countries.

International Trade committee  I'm sorry, I'm trying to remember if Panama was part of CAFTA. I don't know much about Panama; I know more about Colombia. On Colombia, there's a very specific labour action plan that is coming. Preparations are coming into place in terms of the U.S. government Colombia bilateral agreement.

International Trade committee  Let me say that it's all about incremental progress. Let me talk about the Middle East region. The U.S. has four free trade agreements—with Bahrain, Oman, Morocco, and just recently Jordan. It's really fair to say that if you look at where there is progress—and this is evident in different ways, from gender to working conditions to labour rights, the Arab states in which there is progress are clearly those that have bilateral trade relationships.

International Trade committee  No problem.

International Trade committee  There are many reasons, and I can give you some examples. In these special export zones, there are some laws that are not the same; for example, the minimum wage is lower in those zones than for the country. Although recently the migrant workers were allowed to join unions, they're not allowed to form them, and there are restrictions on their freedom of association.

International Trade committee  We published the latest synthesis report for the factories that Better Work has visited, and we had two last week. There was only one problem found with children in hazardous work, and that was actually with 16-year-olds, I believe, and it's been corrected. Now that the law has changed, new plants will come online, but there's not much problem in the factories.

International Trade committee  Yes. I will say that's always true in working in the garment industry around the world. So trending progress is what we look for in enforcement, labour inspection, and performance of the manufacturers.

International Trade committee  I'm sorry, I'm not sure which project you mean. Do you mean the Better Work project, or which project?

International Trade committee  Okay. In terms of Better Work, I believe we have been there not quite since 2007. It's a continuing program. This is a program that is sponsored by the IFC, the International Finance Corporation—the private sector part of the World Bank—and the ILO. It is an initiative that has work going on, not only in Jordan, but Cambodia, Vietnam, Nicaragua, Haiti, and Lesotho, and I may have missed one.

International Trade committee  I can hear you and see you. Thank you.

International Trade committee  Thank you for inviting me to brief you and to answer questions today. Social justice, decent jobs, and respect for fundamental rights have been at the heart of the Arab Spring movement going on in the Arab states. We have observed that freedom of association, employment, and decent work have featured prominently in the recent wave of unrest in Jordan specifically, with more than 550 labour-related protests and strikes since January 2011.