WASHINGTON — September 28, 2026. The United States and Mexico said they have completed a labor-remediation plan at an automotive-parts facility in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, resolving a case brought under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s rapid-response labor process.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said the Akwel Juárez México facility reinstated three workers with full back pay and benefits and paid full severance to six others, based on the workers’ preferences. USTR also said the company changed parts of its human-resources and labor-relations management, disciplined personnel involved in violations and established a confidential complaint channel.
What changed at the facility
According to the USTR release dated September 28, the remediation addressed employer interference in union activity and retaliatory dismissals. The company also posted a neutrality statement, trained personnel on freedom of association and collective bargaining, and committed to repeat that training annually.
Mexico’s actions included monitoring the facility, conducting separate rights training for workers and managers, maintaining anonymous reporting channels and imposing sanctions under Mexican law, including financial penalties, USTR said.
Why U.S. customs treatment changed
With the plan completed, USTR directed the Treasury Department to resume liquidation of previously unliquidated entries of goods from the facility. In customs administration, liquidation is the final calculation of duties owed on an import entry. The direction closes the trade-enforcement hold tied to this specific case; it is not a broader change to tariff rates on Mexican automotive products.
The USMCA rapid-response mechanism allows the United States and Mexico to investigate alleged denials of free-association and collective-bargaining rights at individual facilities. Possible enforcement tools can include suspending tariff benefits or denying entry to goods in repeat cases.
How the case developed
A Mexican union and 10 worker signatories filed the petition on October 24, 2024. The United States requested Mexico’s review on November 22, 2024, and Mexico concluded on January 6, 2025, that a denial of rights had occurred. The two governments later agreed on a remediation course, which formally ended January 31, 2026, followed by compliance monitoring before the September 2026 closure announcement.
The development is one part of a broader North American business and trade picture. AskNovus also recently reported on CarMax’s fiscal second-quarter results, which provide a separate look at U.S. vehicle-market demand.
Sources
- Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, September 28, 2026
- USTR: USMCA Facility-Specific Rapid Response Labor Mechanism
- U.S. Department of Labor: Labor rights and the USMCA
Featured photo: ThisisEngineering via Unsplash.