Prensa Latina

FTA to Leave Hondurans Jobless

Tegucigalpa, Apr 3 2006

Honduran humanitarian bodies predicted Monday that the implementation of the US-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) will increase unemployment in agriculture and in small and medium companies.

A document signed by the Mutual Supportive Group, the centers for Justice and International Law and for the Human Rights Promotion, among other groups, noted the region is unable to compete in similar conditions with the world’s largest economy.

It warned that with that deal nearly 400,000 producers of rice, corn and beans will be forced to leave their work.

Those groups identified irregularities in environmental, labor, health and phytosanitary areas as well as in supervision of the financial sector, copyright laws and others.

In the report, they assured that the CAFTA will devastate local economies and affect employment of the Central Americans, as most nations like Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala depend on agricultural products.