Huge Job and Economic Growth Opportunity for Honduras at Risk If Investments Protected by CAFTA-DR Agreement are Not Respected

Bipartisan Announcement by U.S. Foreign Relations Committee Senators Warns Rule of Law Must be Upheld in Regard to U.S. ZEDE Investments

WASHINGTON, Oct. 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- On October 13, 2022, United States Senators Bill Hagerty (R-TN) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) issued a bipartisan warning that "[a]ny direct or indirect expropriation of U.S. investments in Honduran Economic Development and Employment Zones would be regarded as a direct assault on the guarantees of CAFTA-DR and surely trigger a devastating loss of private sector confidence."

Senators Hagerty and Cardin emphasized that U.S. investment in Honduran Economic Development and Employment Zones (ZEDEs) is guaranteed 50-years of legal stability under CAFTA-DR. The Senators also declared an intention to consider augmenting the U.S. investor protections of the Hickenlooper Amendment if the Honduran Government continued to disregard its obligations under CAFTA-DR. The Hickenlooper Amendment is a U.S. law that directs the President to suspend all aid to countries that engage in the expropriation of U.S. investments.

Senators Cardin and Hagerty, both members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, underscored that the failure to respect the Rule of Law in regard to U.S. investment in Honduran Economic Development and Employment Zones could jeopardize the huge job and economic growth opportunities in Honduras. Billions of dollars of private investment in Honduras, and the Partnership for Central America itself, are at imminent risk of being sidelined if the 50-year legal stability guarantee protecting U.S. investment in ZEDEs is not honored. In contrast, honoring international law and legal stability agreements with U.S. investors like Honduras Próspera Inc. (the U.S.-based promoter and organizer of Próspera ZEDE) sends a strong and stable message to the investment community; and promises to be a win-win for the thousands of Hondurans currently employed in Próspera and other ZEDEs. 

Honduras Próspera seeks the prosperity of Honduras. Próspera has a regulatory system that is uniquely optimized to enable easy nearshoring. We remain committed to raising and investing $500 million in the country and creating 10,000 stable, well-paying Honduran jobs by 2025. Honduras Próspera is uniquely positioned to unite the best of Honduras with the best of the world. Already more than 500 (e)Residents and 100 businesses, many of which are U.S. based, operate within Próspera ZEDE and are creating jobs and opportunities for Hondurans. More and more U.S. companies are proactively seeking to relocate production and logistics facilities to Próspera from less stable parts of the world. Now is the time for Honduras to shine.

As always, Honduras Próspera Inc. stands ready to negotiate a sensible path forward on the premise of guaranteed legal stability for Próspera ZEDE investors.

SOURCE Próspera