The United States has made a plea to Mexico to examine alleged labor violations at a Teklas Automotive facility in Aguascalientes. This is the 14th time that the US Trade Representative office has raised concerns about labor rights violations in Mexico since the implementation of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in 2020. The request aims to address a potential violation of workers’ rights at the automotive parts factory, specifically regarding the termination of employees involved in union activity. The US Trade Representative Katherine Tai stated that this action emphasizes the US’s commitment to using the tools provided by the USMCA to protect workers’ rights.
Teklas Automotive, established in Turkey in the 1970s, has expanded its operations to Europe, North America, and China, positioning itself as a prominent global supplier of automotive fluid systems. The US government is urging the Mexican government to review this case using the USMCA’s Rapid Response Labor Mechanism. If Mexico agrees to the request, it will have 45 days to investigate the matter after 10 days of reviewing the US appeal. However, it is worth noting that Mexico has previously rejected two similar requests to investigate labor rights concerns at Grupo Yazaki’s auto components factory and a Grupo Mexico mine.
At present, Teklas Automotive has not provided a comment in response to the request for review.