In the midst of an uncertain economic panorama at a worldwide level, with tensions in trade and fluctuations in international markets, Mexico, the United States and Canada are taking the first steps toward the renegotiation of the USMCA Trade Agreement. However, the key clause of the Rapid Response Labor Mechanism (RRLM) is arising as a point that creates tension for Mexico, as experts warn that the lack of clarity in its application could complicate the agreements and affect both the competitiveness of the country and labor rights.
Labor Status
“The RRLM was conceived to ensure freedom of association and collective bargaining, but we have seen that it is used beyond these objectives. This leaves companies and workers in a state of defenselessness, without precise information about the accusations and without the possibility of defending themselves properly”, Eduardo Arrocha, an international trade expert and consulting lawyer at De la Vega & Martínez Rojas, pointed out. Even though Mexico has complied with the labor commitments covered in Annex 23-A of the USMCA, including the labor reform and the legitimation of collective bargaining agreements, the ambiguity in the way in which this mechanism is activated and operates continues to be a cause of concern. The United States, the main user of the RRLM, has presented more than thirty complaints in the last few years, and the private sector is afraid that some of them gho beyond the original purpose of the mechanism.
Unions
The review of the USMCA does not entail a renegotiation, but it does represent an opportunity for adjusting and strengthening its implementation. “Chambers of commerce, businessmen and unions have until June 1 of 2026 to submit their recommendations within a term of 60 calendar days from its publication in the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF) for the submission of proposals in Mexico”, Arrocha explained. For weeks now, internal groups have worked with de Department of Economy to conduct a national analysis of the way in which the USMCA works, which will be instrumental in laying out in their entirety the new guidelines or improvements in 2026.
“We call to the Mexican government to work jointly with the private sector and unions to establish clear regulations in order to avoid litigation in regard to matters that are unrelated to freedom of association and collective bargaining under this mechanism”, Arrocha concluded.
The US’s Vision
The United States, for its part, has another vision. Carlos Alberto Bautista, an expert in economy and business at the Universidad La Salle, recalled that on November 30, 2018, the last day of the six-year term of Enrique Peña Nieto, the USMCA was signed in its original version. However, the US Congress, where the Democratic Party was a majority at the time, refused to ratify it. “They said that it was missing something that was very important to them: the matter of labor”, Bautista explained.
This objection resulted in a renegotiation that added the chapter on labor and the rapid response mechanism in 2019.
In an interview with El Debate, he mentioned that the true objective of the United States was not solely to protect the rights of the Mexican workers, but to increase labor costs in Mexico in order to reduce the gap in competitiveness between the two countries. “What they are most concerned about is not so much to protect the workers, but the fact that salaries here are much lower here and that factories will move here”, he said.
The Automotive Sector
The specialist explained that the mechanism demands union freedom and better salary conditions, which has fostered increases in some sectors, but still with significant lagging. In spite of the increases to the minimum wage, workers’ salaries in the automotive industry, one of the sectors that is most closely monitored, has not reached the levels agreed upon at the signing of the agreement.
Bautista recalled that Mexico committed to having at least 45 percent of the regional value of an automobile to come from countries that paid 16 dollars per hour to their workers, an objective that, he said, “is far from being met.”
This lack of progress has created friction with Washington, who also questions the recent changes to secondary Mexican laws relating to telecommunications, economic competitiveness, and foreign trade.
Bilateral agreements on the table
This week, the USMCA was put in a tight spot after statements made by the US President Donald Trump, who opened the door to substituting the trilateral agreement with bilateral agreements between the US, Mexico, and Canada. During a meeting with the Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carey, at the White House, Trump stated that he could renegotiate the USMCA or sign different treaties, without expressing a preference for any option.
Related. In fact, yesterday itself, Mark Carney revealed that they are already negotiating said bilateral agreements with the United States. Previously, Mexico’s President, Claudia Sheinbaum, had stated that the USMCA “is law” in the three member countries and she shared that any changes would require a deep review. She also explained that “it can also be that there are bilateral meetings during the process for the review of the USMCA, not all of them have to be trilateral, as there are some important matters between Mexico and the US, between the United States and Canada, and Canada and Mexico.”
In 2024, trade between Mexico, the United States and Canada was of more than 1.5 trillion dollars, with Mexico mainly exporting manufactured products, automobiles, and electronic products, while the United States continues to represent close to 80 percent of its exports toward the bloc.
