May 12, 2023: Workers of apparel producer Industrias del Interior (INISA 2000) in Aguascalientes are reported to have submitted a Rapid Response Mechanism petition alleging that the company has refused to negotiate an 8% wage increase and has fired workers advocating unionization. Controversy alleged to have started when INISA workers tried to switch their affiliation from the CTM to the Frente Auténtico del Trabajo (FAT, Authentic Labor Front).
June 12: USTR announces US has asked Mexico to review whether workers at an Industrias del Interior (INISA) denim garment plant in Aguascalientes are being denied the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining. This is the first time the USMCA Rapid Response Mechanism has been invoked outside the automotive sector. Request follows May 12 petition by Frente Auténtico del Trabajo (FAT) and a union representing workers at this plant, Sindicato de Industrias del Interior. Petition alleged that INISA is coercing workers to accept company’s proposed collective bargaining agreement revisions and is intervening in the union’s internal affairs; petition also alleged INISA is failing to bargain in good faith with union.
Links: USTR press release; US request to Mexican government; USTR request to Treasury Department to suspend settlement of customs accounts for imports from INISA plant.
August 9, 2023: Governments of Mexico and the US announce agreement on a remediation plan for issues raised in the Rapid Response Mechanism petition regarding Industrias del Interior, SA (INISA) denim plant in Rincón de Romos, Aguascalientes. Links: Mexican government press release; El Universal; AP; Sourcing Journal.