USTR requests labor review of Mexican car parts factory
This is the fifth time the U.S. has used the so-called rapid response mechanism in the USMCA.
TroibNews 
The United States has asked Mexico to review whether workers at a Piedras Negras, Coahuila, auto parts factory are being denied free association and collective bargaining rights, the U.S. Trade Representative's office announced today. This is the fifth such case brought by the U.S. using the so-called rapid response mechanism in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
That provision allows North American nations to challenge the trade and labor practices of their neighbors, potentially imposing trade restrictions if violations are found.
The request comes in response a petition for review from two Mexican labor organizations.
The U.S. asked Mexico in June to review whether similar rights were being denied at a Teskid Hierro facility, also in Coahuila. The two countries additionally announced a resolution of another RRM issue in a Panasonic facility in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico last month.
“Our continued use of the Rapid Response Labor Mechanism underscores the Biden-Harris Administration’s serious commitment to advancing the rights of workers,” Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in a release. “Workers deserve the right to freely organize for the union of their choice. We look forward to working with the Government of Mexico to promptly address this issue, as we have done in prior instances.”
Next steps: After Tai’s request, Mexico has 10 days to agree to conduct a review on whether the facility workers have been denied free association and collective bargaining rights, and another 45 days from Thursday to complete it.
