[CTC] Mexican Labor Lawyer's Arrest Hangs over NAFTA's Big Day

[Arthur Stamoulis]

Politico Morning Trade

MEXICAN LABOR LAWYER’S ARREST HANGS OVER USMCA’S BIG DAY: U.S. labor and advocacy groups are capitalizing on this week’s implementation of Trump’s pet project, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, to call for the release of Mexican labor lawyer Susana Prieto, who was arrested earlier this month on what critics say are phony charges of inciting riot, threats and coercion. 

“Ms. Prieto’s detention is casting a pall over the proposed July 1, 2020 start of the revised North American Free Trade Agreement,” the United Auto Workers, the United Steelworkers, Public Citizen and other groups said in a letter to Mexico’s National Commission on Human Rights. <https://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d4e7261adb6db46371953594b2c9977357fac55175607ef1b991b064aac4eaad9e1dae6fe0eed89f1bbcdaa83904c544> “Her arrest on trumped up charges and then the punitive denial of bail in retaliation for her advocacy … violate the labor rights provided for by Mexico’s constitution and laws.”

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is expected to visit Washington in early July to meet with Trump and mark the USMCA taking effect. Lawmakers and U.S.-Mexico observers say it's unlikely López Obrador's could go without mention of Mexico's ongoing labor issues. 

Rep. Bill Pascrell  <https://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d4e7261adb6db4636286f473c2badde9a8c5c80672d6268f77f1cf996acc030029aad6b0094700ecf3a3ba4b346fe670>(D-N.J.) pressed U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Prieto’s case earlier this month during a House Ways and Means Committee hearing. Lighthizer, who has promised tough and early enforcement of the USMCA’s labor provisions, told Pascrell he thought Prieto’s arrest was a “bad indicator” of Mexico’s commitment to labor reform.

“We are going to take this very seriously,” Lighthizer said. 

Bigger picture: The USMCA takes effect on Wednesday. The Trump administration has already made clear that it is ready to enforce the deal’s new provisions as soon as it enters into force. U.S. lawmakers have said they plan to strongly enforce the deal’s labor provisions to make sure that Mexico treats its workers better.

Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826




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