Finance Committee Ranking Member Supports Labor Certification Proposal for New NAFTA
Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, has joined with Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, to propose that U.S. and Mexican officials inspect Mexican factories suspected of violating labor standards. Wyden's staff said that if that violation was verified, the U.S. would not give its products duty-free entry, and if there was forced labor, it could block imports from those factories entirely.
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They argue it can work because the U.S. does similar inspection and enforcement for Peruvian lumber and for textile rules of origin compliance. “Updating NAFTA will only help American workers if the deal can be enforced. Senator Brown and I have a plan to help Mexico live up to its commitments when it comes to higher labor standards," Wyden said in a statement.
Brown, who voted against the original NAFTA, and Wyden also propose that the U.S. provide capacity building for Mexico to improve its labor enforcement, and the proposal provides guidelines for how many enforcement officials Mexico needs to employ.
Dan Ujczo, a Dickinson Wright partner, works closely with Detroit auto companies that rely on North American supply chains. He does not think aggressive changes to the labor chapter, like this one, will be accepted by Mexico. He said that Mexican industry went further than it ever did before because it really wanted to get the new NAFTA done before a more liberal Mexican administration entered office. "These are major concessions that Mexico made," he said, referring to the current labor chapter in the reworked NAFTA deal, known as the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. He said he believes, as U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer does, "We are never going to get a better deal with Mexico and Canada than the one we have now."