United States Seeks Mexico’s Review of Alleged Denial of Workers’ Rights at Faurecia Facility

WASHINGTON – The Office of the United States Trade Representative has invoked the Rapid Response Labor Mechanism (RRM) in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) to review whether workers at Faurecia Sistemas Automotrices de Mexico, S. de RL de C.V. (Faurecia), located in Silao, Guanajuato, Mexico, are being denied the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining. The United States has suspended liquidation of unliquidated entries of goods from the Faurecia facility, which manufactures and commercializes auto parts.    

Background

The United States Trade Representative and the Secretary of Labor co-chair the Interagency Labor Committee for Monitoring and Enforcement (ILC).  On April 16, 2026, the ILC received an RRM petition from Sindicato Independiente Nacional de Trabajadores y Trabajadoras de la Industria Automotriz (SINTTIA), a Mexican independent union.  The petition alleges that the company violated workers’ rights by interfering in employees’ union activity and unlawfully dismissed workers because of their union activity.  The ILC reviews RRM petitions that it receives, and the accompanying information, within 30 days.  
 
After conducting this review, the ILC determined that there is sufficient, credible evidence of a denial of rights enabling the good faith invocation of enforcement mechanisms.  As a result, the United States Trade Representative has submitted a request to Mexico to review whether workers at Faurecia are being denied the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining.  Mexico has 10 days to agree to conduct a review and, if it agrees, 45 days from today to complete the review.  

Original Request for Review reads as follows: 

The United States requests, pursuant to Article 31-A.4.2 of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), that Mexico conduct a review of whether a Denial of Rights is occurring to workers at a facility operated by Faurecia Sistemas Automotrices de Mexico, S. de R.L. de C.V. (the Company), located in the Silao municipality, State of Guanajuato, Mexico (the Facility). As defined in USMCA Article 31-A.2, a Denial of Rights occurs when workers are being denied the right of free association and collective bargaining under laws necessary to fulfill a Party’s obligations under the USMCA.
The United States is concerned that workers at the Facility are being denied the right of freedom of association and collective bargaining as a result of interference by the Company and the incumbent union¹ in workers’ “concerted activities for collective bargaining or protection and to organize, form, and join the union of their choice” and acts of “employer domination or interference in union activities, discrimination, or coercion against workers for union activity or support.”²

This request for review encompasses all actions taken by the Company or the incumbent union to intervene in, interfere with, or prevent workers from exercising their freedom of association and engaging in collective bargaining activities at the Facility, including by threatening, interrogating, and dismissing workers in retaliation for their activities in support of an independent union.³
The actions encompassed by this request for review include any action or inaction by the Company or the incumbent union, through their employees, representatives, or agents, acting individually or in coordination with third parties.
If Mexico were to determine that there is a Denial of Rights, the United States further requests, pursuant to USMCA Article 31-A.4.2, that Mexico attempt to remediate any such violation within 45 days of this request.
We look forward to receiving Mexico’s notification of whether it intends to conduct the requested review.⁴

^{USTR: https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/files/Press/Releases/2026/Faurecia%20RRM%20-%20Request%20for%20Review.pdf}

¹ The name of the incumbent union is Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Industria Automotriz, Confederación de Trabajadores y Campesinos (STIA-CTC).
² USMCA Article 23-A.2(a).
³ The name of the independent union is Sindicato Independiente Nacional de Trabajadores y Trabajadoras de la Industria Automotriz (SINTTIA).
⁴ USMCA Article 31-A.4.2 (“The respondent Party shall have 10 days to notify the complainant Party as to whether it intends to conduct a review.”).