DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

TA-W-39,870

GRUPO MEXICO ASARCO, INC.
EL PASO, TEXAS

Negative Determination Regarding Eligibility
To Apply For Worker Adjustment Assistance

In accordance with Section 223 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 USC 2273) as amended by the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (P. L. 100-418), the Department of Labor herein presents the results of an investigation regarding certification of eligibility to apply for worker adjustment assistance.
The investigation was initiated on August 20, 2001, in response to a petition filed on behalf of workers at Grupo Mexico ASARCO, Inc., El Paso, Texas. Workers at the subject plant formerly produced copper anode. However, production at the plant shut down in February of 1999, and there has been no production of copper anode at the plant since that time. Workers remaining at the facility perform maintenance services.
The investigation revealed that within the last year the workers of the subject firm did not produce an article within the meaning of Section 223(3) of the Trade Act of 1974. The Department of Labor has consistently determined that the performance of services does not constitute production of an article, as required by the Trade Act of 1974, and this determination has been upheld in the U. S. Court of Appeals.


Workers of the subject facility may be certified only if their separation was caused importantly by a reduced demand for their services from a parent firm, a firm otherwise related to the subject firm by ownership, or a firm related by control. Additionally, the reduction in demand for services must originate at a production facility whose workers independently meet the statutory criteria for certification and the reduction must directly relate to the product impacted by imports. These conditions have not been met for workers performing maintenance services at the subject facility.
Conclusion
After careful review, I determine that all workers at Grupo Mexico, ASARCO, Inc., El Paso, Texas, are denied eligibility to apply for adjustment assistance under Section 223 of the Trade Act of 1974.
Signed in Washington, D. C. this 12th day of October, 2001


/s/ Linda G. Poole
______________________________
LINDA G. POOLE
Certifying Officer, Division of
Trade Adjustment Assistance