US seeks Mexico’s review of alleged denial of Workers’ Rights at Impro Industries Mexico, S. de R.L. de C.V.

For the seventh time in 2024, the United States has sought Mexico’s review under the USMCA’s Rapid Response Labor Mechanism.

United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai announced today that the United States has asked Mexico to review whether workers at the Impro Industries Mexico, S. de R.L. de C.V. (Impro Mexico), facility in the city of Villa de Reyes in the State of San Luis Potosí, Mexico, are being denied the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining. The United States has suspended liquidation of tariffs on goods from the Impro Mexico facility, which is a Chinese-owned manufacturing facility that makes component parts for use in the energy, medical, automotive, and agricultural sectors. The request, which was made in response to a petition, marks the twenty-fifth time the United States has formally invoked the Rapid Response Labor Mechanism (RRM) in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

“The United States has now invoked the Rapid Response Mechanism twenty-five times in the past three years, directly benefiting over 36,000 workers and demonstrating our steadfast commitment to utilize the RRM to lift up workers at home and abroad,” said Ambassador Katherine Tai. “We look forward to continuing our collaboration with the Government of Mexico to ensure the rights and welfare of the workers concerned in this matter are fully protected.”

“We are deeply concerned by the dismissal of a union delegate for exercising what should be protected union activity,” said Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs Thea Lee. “This action violates Mexican labor laws and undermines the labor protections established under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. We look forward to working closely with the government of Mexico to resolve this issue.”

Background

The United States Trade Representative and the Secretary of Labor co-chair the Interagency Labor Committee for Monitoring and Enforcement (ILC). On June 24, 2024, the ILC received an RRM petition from La Liga Sindical Obrera Mexicana (LSOM). The petition alleged that Impro Mexico unjustly fired workers for engaging in union activity and that the union that currently holds collective bargaining rights at the facility, the ‘Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de la Industria Automotriz y Servicios en General Similares y Conexos de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos, C.T.M.’, engaged in conduct that interfered with workers' rights to participate in voting procedures at the facility or otherwise discouraged affiliation with LSOM. The ILC reviews RRM petitions that it receives, and the accompanying information, within 30 days.

The ILC determined that there is sufficient, credible evidence of a denial of rights enabling the good faith invocation of enforcement mechanisms. As a result, the United States Trade Representative has submitted a request to Mexico that Mexico review whether workers at the Impro Mexico facility are being denied the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining. Mexico has ten days to agree to conduct a review and, if it agrees, 45 days from today to complete the review.