The United States initiated the Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) 13 times in 2023, requesting review by the government of Mexico for alleged denials of duties at various facilities.
In addition, the United States and Mexico decided on four remedial courses during the period under review and the United States launched the first RRM dispute settlement panel.
What is the Rapid Response Mechanism?
The RRM provides any interested party the opportunity to request the U.S. government to initiate a case based on sufficient and credible evidence that workers’ rights are being denied at a specific facility in Mexico.
Those rights include the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining, which are guaranteed under both Mexican law and the terms of the USMCA.
Rapid Response Mechanism
From the perspective of the U.S. Trade Representation (USTR), work through the mechanism has yielded concrete and positive results for workers, such as reinstatement and back pay for laid-off workers, increased opportunities for unions to organize and compete on an equal footing, free and fair union representation elections in which workers selected unions to represent them, and new collective bargaining agreements with substantial improvements in wages and working conditions.
Labor reconciliation
Through the international cooperation of the U.S. Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), multiple rounds of the training course on labor conciliation techniques were given in various Mexican entities.
From September 2022 to June 2023, 334 judges, court clerks and conciliators, among other officials involved in the processes linked to the new labor justice procedure, were trained.
Nineteen training rounds were also held, eight for conciliators from the Federal Center for Conciliation and Labor Registration (CFCRL) and the remaining 11 for public servants from the Local Conciliation Centers of Mexico City, Chihuahua, Nuevo León, Puebla and Tamaulipas, as well as for officials from the Judiciary Branches of Mexico City, Guerrero, Nayarit, Sonora and Tamaulipas.
From January 2021 to June 2023, 669 officials were trained through this cooperation project.
