For the eighth time in 2024, and twenty-sixth time overall, the United States has sought Mexico’s review under the USMCA’s Rapid Response Labor Mechanism.
WASHINGTON – United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai announced today that the United States has asked Mexico to review whether workers at the Pirelli Neumaticos, S.A. de C.V (Pirelli), facility in the city of Silao de la Victoria in the state of Guanajuato, 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 Pirelli facility, which specializes in converting rubber into car tires. The request, which was made in response to a petition, marks the twenty-sixth time the United States has formally invoked the Rapid Response Labor Mechanism (RRM) in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
“As the second Rapid Response Mechanism matter dealing with Mexico’s sector-wide agreement for the rubber industry, this case demonstrates that the tool is raising awareness among workers in the sector about their labor rights and providing a pathway for their concerns to be addressed,” said Ambassador Katherine Tai. “We look forward to continuing our collaboration with the Government of Mexico to protect workers’ rights at the facility.”
“The request for review in this case provides an opportunity under the Rapid Response Labor Mechanism for Pirelli workers to benefit from the application of the rubber sector-wide agreement, consistent with Mexican labor law,” said Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs Thea Lee. “We look forward to continuing to work with the government of Mexico to secure workers their fair compensation under the law.”
Background
The United States Trade Representative and the Secretary of Labor co-chair the Interagency Labor Committee for Monitoring and Enforcement (ILC). On July 23, 2024, the ILC received an RRM petition from La Liga Sindical Obrera Mexicana (LSOM), International Lawyers Assisting Workers Network (ILAW Network), United Steelworkers (USW), and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO). The petition alleged Pirelli is not applying the sector-wide agreement (contrato ley) covering the rubber manufacturing industry at the facility and is instead applying a singular collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with benefits inferior to those in the contrato ley. 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 Pirelli 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.
A copy of the request for review can be found here.
A copy of the letter to the Secretary of the Treasury can be found here.
Information about previous requests can be found here.
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