At the Canada-Central America Summit in Guatemala on September 28, 2000, Canada agreed to a request by the leaders of the CA4 countries (Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua) to pursue free trade negotiations. Following extensive domestic consultations, formal negotiations were launched on November 21, 2001. Negotiations on parallel agreements on labour cooperation and the environment were launched at the same time.
After 10 rounds of negotiations, the talks reached an impasse in 2004, primarily over market access issues. Canada and the CA4 countries, however, continued to work to address the outstanding issues and lay the groundwork towards an eventual resumption of negotiations. To this end, Canadian and CA4 officials met three times in 2006, were in contact throughout 2007, and met again on three separate occasions in 2008. These discussions were useful and allowed officials to have a full exchange of views. Following the meetings in 2008, the Parties met in Ottawa from February 23 to 27, 2009, for the first full round of free trade agreement negotiations since 2004. Following further intersessional discussions via videoconferences, teleconferences and other exchanges, Canada and the CA4 met in Ottawa for the 12th round of negotiations from March 8 to 12, 2010.
Following the March 2010 round, Canada concluded that, among the CA4 countries, Honduras offered the best opportunity to conclude a free trade agreement in the short-term. As such, in October 2010, Canada and Honduras decided to concentrate on bilateral negotiations. To this end, Canadian and Honduran officials met three times for bilateral meetings: in Ottawa from December 6 to 9, 2010, in Tegucigalpa from February 14 to 18, 2011, and once again in Ottawa from July 18 to 25, 2011.
On August 12, 2011, Prime Minister Harper announced the conclusion of negotiations toward a Canada-Honduras free trade agreement. The announcement was made during an official visit to San Pedro Sula, Honduras, by Prime Minister Harper.
On November 5, 2013, Minister Fast and his Honduran counterpart signed the Canada-Honduras Free Trade Agreement. The parallel agreements on labour cooperation and environmental cooperation were also signed. (See News Release: Minister Fast Signs Canada-Honduras Free Trade Agreement as Canada Secures Full Market Access for Beef and Pork)
The Canada-Honduras Economic Growth and Prosperity Act was introduced into Parliament on January 28, 2014 and on June 19, 2014 it received Royal Assent. (See News Releases: Harper Government Introduces Legislation to Implement Free Trade Agreement with Honduras and Canada-Honduras Economic Growth and Prosperity Act Receives Royal Assent).
On September 15, Parliamentary Secretary Erin O’Toole confirmed that the Canada-Honduras Free Trade Agreement and parallel agreements on labour and environmental cooperation would enter into force on October 1, 2014.
The free trade agreement with Honduras will strengthen the commercial relationship between Canada and Honduras. It will benefit Canadian businesses and workers in regions across the country and in many sectors of the Canadian economy, including agriculture, professional services, value added food processing and manufacturing, as well as commodity- and resource-based industries.