There are 11 registered resolutions between Mexico, the United States and Canada registered in the industrial sector, according to the report of the Treaty Mexico, United States and Canada (T-MEC), reported the Ministry of Economy.

According to the document, from November 2020 to March 2022, disputes were registered between Mexico and the United States; United States and Canada, Mexico and Canada; and others involving the three countries.

The resolutions relate, according to Economy, to rules of origin in the automotive sector, products such as: large diameter welded tubes, steel bars for concrete reinforcement (rod), photovoltaic cells, allocation of tariff quotas for dairy products, softwood and drywall.

Throughout the report, it was indicated that one of the innovations of the treaty is that it incorporates obligations on the electronic presentation of documents in terms of dispute settlement.

Since August 2021, the three national sections that make up the T-MEC secretariat have set up an electronic platform called TAS E-Filing System by signing an agreement for its use.

The platform also provides publicly available information on Chapter 10 (trade remedies), 31 (dispute resolution) and labor rapid response mechanism dispute resolution cases.

In this way, the TAS electronic filing system is a tool that offers greater transparency to dispute resolution mechanisms.

Through this platform, it is also sought to facilitate the administration of files and the presentation of information in the context of dispute settlement procedures, said the Ministry of the Economy.

Third dispute in the automotive sector

For the third time, the United States has called on Mexican authorities to examine whether workers at the Panasonic Automotive Systems de México plant in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, are being denied their rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining during union elections.

This is the third request made by the United States to Mexico under the Rapid Labor Response Mechanism (RRM, for its acronym in English) implemented in the treaty, said the claims relate to the sector national automobile.

“This announcement demonstrates once again that when concerns arise, we will work quickly to defend workers on both sides of the border,” U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in a letter to the Treasury Department.

Following the request, Mexico has ten days to accept the reconsideration and, if it accepts, 45 days from the announcement to settle the reconsideration.

Last year, the United States submitted two reconsideration requests to Mexico. These requests were the first two times a country had used the new RRM, and each resulted in substantial concrete benefits for workers in both countries.

On this occasion, the American authorities requested the examination of the General Motors plant in Silao, Guanajuato as well as the Matamoros, Tamaulipas plant of the auto parts manufacturer Tridonex,