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Article

22 Sep 2021

Author:
Reuters

Mexico & U.S.: U.S. labor complaint under the USMCA trade pact over a General Motors plant union vote in Mexico has been concluded

"U.S. trade office says GM Mexico labor case concluded, tariff threat lifted", 22 September 2021

...A U.S. labor complaint under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade pact over a General Motors plant union vote in Mexico has been successfully concluded, lifting the threat of U.S. tariffs on the factory's pickup trucks, the U.S. Trade Representative's (USTR) office said on Wednesday.

The United States opened the case in May after complaints that workers' rights at a GM pickup-truck plant in Silao in central Mexico were being violated in a vote on whether to keep or scrap their collective union contract.

The result was suspended after Mexico's labor ministry found irregularities in the process and workers voted in a repeat ballot in August to scrap the contract, opening the door for them to oust one of Mexico's largest labor groups as their union.

The vote, with safeguards agreed upon by Mexico and the United States to ensure a fair vote, was the first test of labor rules under the USMCA accord that replaced the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)...

Labor remedies under USMCA include revoking tariff-free access for the violating factory's goods. In GM's case, that could have meant applying a 25% U.S. pickup truck import tariff on Silao-made trucks, likely adding thousands of dollars to each vehicle's cost...

GM did not immediately comment...

Part of the following timelines

Mexico: Based on USMCA determinations, US activists and politicians fill complaints against Tridonex and General Motors for practices violating workers' rights

Mexico: Labour rights petitions submitted under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)