The United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai has requested that Mexico examine the labor rights conditions at a mine owned by Grupo Mexico SAB. The mine is located in Zacatecas, Mexico, and there are reportedly concerns that employees are being denied their right of free association and collective bargaining. This marks the eleventh time overall and the sixth time in 2023 that the US has sought a review from Mexico under the free trade agreement’s rapid response labor mechanism.
Grupo Mexico, which is owned by billionaire German Larrea, has faced several challenges recently. In May, the Mexican government seized a portion of its freight railway, which ultimately led to Larrea abandoning a bid to buy one of the country's largest banks from Citigroup Inc. Now, the US is calling on Mexico to review the company's labor practices.
Unions in both the US and Mexico raised concerns that Grupo Mexico had resumed operations at the San Martin mine in Zacatecas despite an ongoing strike, and that the company had engaged in collective bargaining with a coalition of workers despite the fact that the Los Mineros union holds the right to represent workers.
The US Interagency Labor Committee for Monitoring and Enforcement has determined that there is credible evidence of a denial of labor rights at the mine. In response, Tai has directed the Secretary of the Treasury to suspend the final settlement of customs accounts related to the entries of goods from the San Martin mine.
Mexico now has 10 days to agree to a review, and if it agrees, it will have 45 days to complete it. Grupo Mexico has not yet commented on the situation.