Mexico pushing labour reform, won't ratify new NAFTA with U.S. tariffs in place

[Judi Lynn]

Canadian Press
Published:
March 3, 2019

Updated:
March 3, 2019 6:34 PM EST

OTTAWA — Mexico’s Congress will be asked to approve a major labour-reform bill this spring as a necessary step to ratifying the new North American free-trade pact later this autumn, say Mexican officials.

But unless the Trump administration lifts the punishing tariffs it has imposed on Mexican steel and aluminum imports — duties it also imposed on Canada — Mexico is prepared to keep the status quo with the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement.

The push to improve workers’ rights in Mexico was a key priority for Canada and the United States during the rocky NAFTA renegotiation because they wanted to level the playing field between their workers and lower-paid Mexican workers, especially in the auto sector.

When Mexico and the U.S. reached their surprise bilateral agreement last August, forcing the Trudeau government to quickly forge a deal with the Trump administration, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland lauded Mexico for making labour concessions.

More:
https://torontosun.com/news/world/mexico-pushing-labour-reform-wont-ratify-new-nafta-with-u-s-tariffs-in-place/wcm/c75c36c1-a4d5-4fae-8895-c31a00e98e52