U.S. labor complaint against GM in Mexico lifted
WASHINGTON, Sept 22 Reuters: A U.S. labor complaint under the U.S.-Canada trade pact over a General Motors plant union vote in Mexico has been successfully concluded, lifting the threat of U.S. tariffs on factory pickup trucks, the USTR office of the U.S. Trade Representative said on Wednesday.
The United States opened the case in May after complaints that workers' rights at a GM pickup-truck factory in Silao in central Mexico were being violated in a vote on whether to retain or scrap their collective union contract.
The result was suspended after Mexico's labor ministry found irregularities in the process and workers worked in August in a repeat ballot to scrap the contract, opening the door for them to demolish 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 deal that replaced the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement NAFTA We will continue to collaborate closely with Mexico to strengthen the Legitimation Vo Process and ensure workers in Mexico can access their rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining, said U.S. Trade Ambassador Katherine Tai in a statement.
The vote in August marked a defeat for one of the most powerful unions in Mexico, while representing an opening for workers to freely choose independent groups they feel will best fight for their interests.
Labor remedies under USMCA include revoking tariff-free access for the violating factory goods. In GM's case, this could have meant applying a 25% U.S. shipping tariff on Silao-made trucks, likely adding thousands of dollars to each vehicle's cost.
Tai helped negotiate the labor enforcement mechanism on behalf of Democrats in the United States Congress.
GM won key changes to the USMCA that enabled it to continue to build hundreds of thousands of USMCA pickups in Mexico for export to Mexico annually.
GM did not comment immediately Wednesday.