The USMCA: Protecting American Jobs, Delivering for American Workers

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A top priority of President Trump is to stand up for American workers in global trade. ILAB fights to level the playing field for American workers and make sure U.S. companies can compete fairly—without being undercut by low-wage, low-standard labor abroad. For years, too many American workers—especially in critical industries like auto manufacturing—have lost jobs to workers in countries like Mexico, where weaker labor laws created unfair advantages for companies seeking to profit from cheap, exploited labor. This offshoring has hurt American families and undercut our economic strength. By enforcing strong labor commitments under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), we are making global competition fair for American workers.

The USMCA, negotiated during the first Trump Administration, contains the strongest and most comprehensive labor provisions of any U.S. trade agreement. It required Mexico to reform its labor laws to meet international standards, particularly the right of workers to form independent unions and bargain for fair pay and safe working conditions. These changes represent the most significant labor reforms in Mexico in more than a century. ILAB has been pivotal in efforts to ensure that Mexico follows through on these commitments, holding Mexico to enforcing its labor laws and helping to stop wage suppression that harms American workers.

USMCA Labor Chapter and Rapid Response Labor Mechanism Petitions

These rules let stakeholders—unions, businesses, and governments— file formal complaints when other countries fail to meet their labor commitments.

Petitions and information alleging a failure to comply with the labor obligations under the USMCA Labor Chapter or denial of rights at a covered facility, as those terms are defined in the USMCA Procedural Guidelines, related to the Rapid Response Labor Mechanism of the USMCA (Annex 31–A), should be sent to Office of Trade and Labor Affairs, Bureau of International Labor Affairs, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Room S-5315, Washington, DC 20210, USMCA-petitions@dol.gov, telephone number 202-693-4649. 

USMCA Web-Based Hotline

To provide confidential information about labor issues in USMCA countries, please visit the USMCA hotline.

USMCA’s Labor Chapter

The USMCA Labor Chapter requires Mexico to reform its labor laws to meet international standards and ensure Mexican businesses comply with these laws, particularly the rights of workers to freely choose to form independent unions to help close the wage gap with American workers and demand the same safety protections.

Among its provisions, the USMCA Labor Chapter:

  • Requires the parties to adopt and maintain, in law and practice, core labor rights as enunciated by the ILO, and enforce labor laws.
  • Requires the parties to prohibit the import of goods made by forced labor, to address violence against workers exercising their labor rights, and to address sex-based discrimination in the workplace.
  • Includes an Annex on Worker Representation in Collective Bargaining that requires Mexico to establish and maintain independent and impartial bodies to register union elections and resolve disputes relating to collective bargaining agreements and the recognition of unions
  • Protects workers’ rights to engage in real collective bargaining and requires companies in Mexico to abide by the same basic labor principles that companies in the United States do.

ILAB's Role

ILAB plays a key role in overseeing compliance with the USMCA labor commitments, ranging from day-to-day monitoring of labor practices to support for formal dispute settlement. ILAB provides technical assistance to ensure the Mexican government has the tools and capacity to follow through on its commitments.

Monitoring and Enforcement

ILAB combines innovative enforcement methods with on-the-ground engagement to ensure the government and businesses in Mexico live up to the labor obligations under the USMCA. The Department of Labor and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) co-chair the Interagency Labor Committee for Monitoring and Enforcement, which coordinates U.S. efforts to implement, maintain, and enforce USMCA labor obligations and monitor Mexico's historic labor reforms.

As the primary point of contact in the U.S. government for USMCA’s labor chapter, ILAB:

  • receives and investigates petitions alleging violations of Mexico’s labor obligations;
  • maintains a web-based USMCA worker hotline; and
  • reviews thousands of tips related to labor matters in USMCA countries.

The Rapid Response Labor Mechanism (RRM)

The RRM, negotiated during the first Trump Administration, gives the U.S. government a powerful tool to hold Mexican facilities accountable when they violate labor rights. When companies in Mexico break the rules—by stopping workers from unionizing or bargaining for fair wages—the RRM lets us step in fast to fix it. That means unprecedented leverage for the United States and less room for companies in Mexico to gain an unfair advantage by cutting corners on labor.

ILAB and USTR have already used the RRM to take action in dozens of cases. These cases have forced these factory owners to clean up their act—reinstating fired workers, paying back wages, and offering pay increases and fairer working conditions. They’ve also had to train managers on basic labor rights and issue neutrality statements regarding treatment of workers who seek to organize and bargain collectively.

Even companies not directly targeted by the RRM are changing their behavior to avoid penalties and the reputational harm an RRM case brings. The RRM is thus working to close the wage gap between Mexican and American workers, protecting U.S. manufacturing jobs, and reversing the race to the bottom.

The RRM helps American workers win better deals at home, too. When Mexican workers can bargain freely, it puts less downward pressure on U.S. wages and benefits—especially in industries like autos, electronics, apparel, and aerospace, where outsourcing has hit American workers hardest.

Thanks to the RRM and ILAB’s vigilance and enforcement, we’re putting American workers first—and making sure the rules of trade work for us, not against us.

RRM Case Examples

  • More Bargaining Power for VW Workers on Both Sides of the Border: A Mexican car assembly plant owned by a German firm was the subject of an RRM case after ten workers were fired for union activity. ILAB and USTR worked with the government of Mexico to find a resolution, which included the reinstatement of eight workers with backpay and training for workers and management on Mexico’s new freedom of association and collective bargaining laws. The company also issued a neutrality statement and conduct guidelines and agreed to a zero-tolerance policy for violations of these guidelines. This RRM case ended a corrupt practice that interfered with worker freedom for years. The union is now positioned to negotiate a wage increase and close the wage gap between workers at the Mexican plant and the 12 plants the firm operates in the United States.
  • Raising the Floor for Wages in the Rubber Tire Sector: A Goodyear tire plant in San Luis Potosí, Mexico was the subject of an RRM case after failing to apply a legally binding sector-wide agreement covering wages and working conditions across the entire rubber industry in Mexico. Instead, Goodyear imposed its own collective bargaining agreement, which it had signed with a corrupt union that falsely claimed to represent the workers, shortchanging wages and benefits. ILAB and USTR worked with the government of Mexico to restore workers’ rights at the facility and hold Goodyear to the sector-wide agreement, resulting in back pay, higher wages, and the benefits workers were due. The case set a powerful precedent, signaling to other rubber facilities in Mexico that circumventing the sector-wide agreement would not be tolerated. It also narrowed the wage gap between Mexican tire workers and their U.S. counterparts, strengthening bargaining power for American workers.

Read more about RRM cases here.

Technical Assistance to Build Labor Law Compliance

ILAB technical assistance has been critical for enhancing the Mexican government’s effectiveness in rooting out labor violations that undercut the U.S. labor market and competitiveness in North American trade. Since USMCA implementation, the United States has provided over $200 million in assistance for Mexico’s labor reform. ILAB has prioritized sectors—such as autos, manufacturing, and agriculture—vital to safeguard at home by countering suppression of wages and weak labor protections abroad.

These projects have strengthened the capacity of the Mexican Ministry of Labor and new federal and state institutions to implement fundamental labor reforms. They have trained personnel to administer new labor courts, built the capacity of labor conciliation centers that have helped workers and employers reach agreements in close to a million workplace disputes, and launched a publicly accessible union registration database, which provides up-to-date information on all unions and all collective agreements in Mexico, enabling transparency and accountability. These projects also developed materials on union democracy procedures to help workers understand their rights to vote freely for a union of their choice, as well as materials for businesses on how to comply with USMCA labor provisions.

These actions help fuel President Trump’s trade policy—setting strong worker protections abroad so American workers and businesses can compete on a level playing field.

Keeping Imports Made by Forced Labor Out of North America

The USMCA requires Mexico and Canada to ban imports made with forced labor—just like the United States already does. This helps protect American workers and businesses from being undercut by unfair foreign competition.

Making sure our neighbors enforce this ban also stops countries like China from sneaking goods made with forced labor through the back door in trade. That protects American producers and American workers and cracks down on efforts to undermine our trade rules.

Labor Attachés

ILAB has five labor attachés based in Mexico. These experts work closely with our partners in Canada and Mexico to monitor labor developments, promote U.S. interests, and make sure the USMCA continues to benefit American workers and businesses. Mexico-based staff serve as resources to American business and labor on how to navigate the USMCA labor landscape, providing one-of-a kind analysis and guidance on USMCA labor requirements.