[CTC] Manufacturers call out red flags in NAFTA labor rules

[Arthur Stamoulis]

Politico Morning Trade

MANUFACTURERS CALL OUT RED FLAGS IN USMCA LABOR RULES: The National Association of Manufacturers is urging the Trump administration to make changes to its proposed guidelines on how the public can submit petitions on potential failures in Mexico or Canada to implement their USMCA labor obligations.

“It is critical that the USMCA be implemented in a manner that restores certainty and ensures supply chain continuity, which will help our industry lead the nation’s recovery and renewal,” Ken Monahan, NAM’s senior director of international economic affairs, wrote in comments submitted to USTR on Saturday <https://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=519526545ff14cbe7b1800781afe90191bb53709ff71cd2722f12427ed07ec8d3fd7d1175825c47debf04462285120e6>. That was the last day for the public to submit comments on the proposed guidelines.

What manufacturers want: The group is asking that the interim guidelines  <https://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=519526545ff14cbe9682c750c5c0ab5866119520d59bddb360af66ec8b86cad5ea7ed0c051eba3c31f0b350897e6e115>be more transparent and detailed to ensure that facilities accused of labor violations know they are being investigated and are not forced to “navigate lengthy and expensive defenses because of delays.” NAM also recommended that the guidelines outline an appeals process for a facility targeted by a petition, and ensure that any punishment in the form of remedies be limited to the specific facility involved — not all the facilities an accused company owns.

The concern, Monahan said, is that the “proposed interim guidelines may result in the filing of petitions that would undermine the ability of manufacturers to produce goods in the United States without improving the rights of workers in Canada and Mexico.”

Good news: The end of the comment period moves the three countries one step closer to fully implementing the USMCA’s labor rules, which allows the public to petition when it believes facilities are violating their labor commitments. The USMCA includes a first-of-its-kind rapid-response labor mechanism that’s meant to make it easier for the U.S. to monitor and expedite enforcement of labor rights in Mexico at particular facilities. However, given that it’s a new process, it has taken months for the administration to work out the details on how it will run.


Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826




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