US, Mexico Agree to Remediation Plan in First USMCA Rapid Response Case
The U.S. and Mexico reached an agreement for how to remediate labor issues at a General Motors factory in Silao, Mexico, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in a July 8 news release. The remediation plan is a result of the first use of “rapid response” provisions for addressing labor issues under USMCA (see 2105120007), the agency said in another release. “Reaching an agreement with Mexico on a remediation plan shows the USMCA’s potential to protect workers’ rights and the benefits of a worker-centered trade policy,” Tai said. “Fully implementing and enforcing the USMCA not only helps workers there, it also helps American workers by preventing trade from becoming a race to the bottom. Our agreements must be more than words on a page, and the United States will use every avenue to protect workers and ensure that Americans compete on a level playing field.”
Action under the rapid response mechanism began in May “in response to information indicating serious violations of workers’ rights in connection with a recent worker vote, organized by the existing union, on whether to approve their collective bargaining agreement,” USTR said in a fact sheet. The remediation plan calls for a “new legitimization vote” by Aug. 20 and efforts to prevent and report “any intimidation and coercion.”
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., said he fought for “proactive, aggressive enforcement tools” within the USMCA. “Tai knows these tools and how important enforcing the USMCA is to its overall success, and the success of our three nations,” Neal said. Trade Subcommittee Chairman Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., and Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., celebrated the deal in a news release. “This is an important step forward and our committee will continue to closely monitor the process. Workers have a right to unionize, and we will not tolerate attempts to prevent them,” they said in a joint statement.
United Autoworkers President Ray Curry also voiced support for the remediation plan agreement. “The historic agreement between the Biden Administration and the Mexican government is aimed at providing the workers of the General Motors Silao facility in Mexico the ability to vote on whether to approve their collective bargaining agreement under free and democratic conditions,” he said. “The agreement also sends a clear signal that workers’ fundamental rights on both sides of the border will no longer be ignored and are the focal point of our international trade agenda.” The AFL-CIO also signaled it is pleased with the development.