USMCA

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.

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 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.

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 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.

CBP's Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) will next meet March 29 in Seattle, CBP said in a notice. Comments are due in writing by March 24.

The U.S. government, dissatisfied with the narrowing of a Mexican ban on genetically modified corn (see 2302150026), has asked for technical consultations under the USMCA's sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) chapter. A formal dispute can't be initiated without first taking this step.

The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity needs strong commitments on labor rights, the environment and on digital trade, among other items, a coalition of organizations and unions told the Biden administration.

Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Jayme White, speaking during a panel discussion with representatives from USMCA partners, said the NAFTA rewrite's credibility is on the line if enforcement is weak. White, who discussed USMCA implementation on a Brookings Institution panel along with a Canadian minister and a Mexican senator who leads that body's Special Committee for USMCA Implementation, said if promises on environmental rules, labor standards and energy aren't fulfilled, workers will say: "Well, you don't enforce it."

A trade group for the Mexican steel industry, CANACERO, warned that Mexico likely will retaliate against U.S. steel exports if the U.S. reimposes 25% tariffs on Mexican steel -- and the U.S. exports much more steel to Mexico than vice versa.