We previously discussed Trump’s U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA), which replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) as a regional trade deal. The deal helped auto plant workers in Mexico oust notoriously corrupt unions, although the war is clearly not over yet.
The U.S. has now filed a fourth complaint to ensure that workers in Mexico can choose their own union, rather than remain with pro-company and corrupt representation. This particular case involves a Stellantis parts plant that is chock full of labor violation complaints including chronically deflated wages. As part of the trade deal, the U.S. can pile on the tariffs on exports from specific factories, and that is a weapon that the Trump deal is gearing up to use.
In other words, labor policies by different presidential administrations do collide, and the results can be quite insightful and even point toward the future
