The office of the Mexican Economy Secretary said it agrees with the U.S. that there is reason to investigate Unique Fabricating, a Michigan-headquartered manufacturer that makes foam, rubber and plastic components such as seals, door water shields, gaskets and glove box liners. Transformation Sindical told the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative that managers at the plant in Queretaro, Mexico, denied them the ability to visit with workers at the site and give them the option of joining their union (see 2303090038). Mexico's government said March 17 that it will begin an investigation to see if workers at the plant were denied their rights to join an independent union. The USMCA Rapid Response Mechanism allows 45 days for that investigation.
Mexico is beginning consultations on how to remediate violations at Manufacturas VU, a Michigan-headquartered supplier of interior automotive trims, after its investigation found serious irregularities, and found that the company placed obstacles for its workers to choose their own union and to collectively bargain. The office of the Economy Secretary made the announcement March 16. It is the second time VU's plant in Piedras Negras has been the subject of a Rapid Response Mechanism complaint from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Mexico and the U.S. have 10 days to put forward a remediation plan. So far, no fines or curtailed tariff benefits have been imposed on Mexican exporters targeted in the Rapid Response Labor Mechanism under USMCA. This is the only plant with repeated complaints (see 2301300030).
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will be sharing information with Mexico about "the safety of biotech products," which is something the president of Mexico brought up repeatedly in explaining his decrees about genetically modified corn, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said at a Senate oversight hearing.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative complied with Administrative Procedure Act requirements when it set lists 3 and 4A Section 301 tariffs on China, the Court of International Trade held in a much-anticipated opinion on March 17. After USTR provided more explanation of its tariff decisions on remand, judges Mark Barnett, Claire Kelly and Jennifer Choe-Groves held that the explanations were not made impermissibly post hoc and cleared APA requirements.
The Court of International Trade upheld the U.S. Trade Representative's Lists 3 and 4A tariff action under Section 301 on China in a widely-anticipated decision on March 17. After the tariffs were previously sent back over concerns of compliance with the Administrative Procedures Act, the USTR offered further explanations of its tariff decisions. Judges Mark Barnet, Claire Kelly and Jennifer Choe-Groves held that these explanations were not made impermissibly post hoc and cleared APA requirements.
The U.S. is pushing for Taiwan to automate its customs process, create a single window for trade and reduce restrictions on e-commerce in talks on the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade, according to U.S. negotiating proposals released by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative March 16.
Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., complained this week that Brazil is not in the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity, and that APEP, once its negotiations are completed, is unlikely to increase U.S. agricultural exports to member countries. Young, speaking at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the future of U.S.-Brazil relations, said farmers in his state rely on market access-opening trade deals, and said the U.S. should try to convince Brazil to lower its tariff barriers on corn, soybeans and ethanol.
Three trade groups thanked U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai for starting consultations with Mexico over what they call "discriminatory policies" in the energy sector, but warned: "It appears that the administration of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador will not change the course of his country’s energy policy without continued, direct and forceful pressure from the U.S. government."
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on March 13 released country-by-country reallocations of unused FY 2023 in-quota amounts for the tariff-rate quotas for imported raw cane sugar. "Based on consultations with quota holders, USTR has determined to reallocate 224,240 [metric tons raw value (MTRV)] of the original TRQ quantity from those countries that have stated they do not plan to fill their FY 2023 allocated raw cane sugar quantities," it said. Reallocated quantities are as follows: Argentina 12,682; Australia 24,479; Barbados 500; Belize 3,244; Bolivia 2,360; Brazil 42,765; Colombia 7,078; Costa Rica 4,424; Dominican Republic 40,000; Ecuador 3,244; El Salvador 7,668; Eswatini (Swaziland) 4,719; Fiji 2,654; Guatemala 14,157; Guyana 3,539; Honduras 2,949; India 2,360; Malawi 2,949; Mauritius 3,539; Mozambique 3,834; Panama 8,553; Peru 12,092; South Africa 6,783; Thailand 4,129; and Zimbabwe 3,539.
The U.S. asked the Mexican government to review a Unique Fabricating, Inc. plant in Queretaro, Mexico, based on allegations that the factory is obstructing workers’ freedom of association and right to collective bargaining, the Department of Labor said in a March 6 news release. Mexican labor union Transformacion Sindical recently filed a complaint under the USMCA Rapid Response Mechanism alleging Unique Fabricating, a U.S.-based company, denied it access to the facility and interfered with organizing efforts, DOL said.