Email this article 
Procedures Adopted in the Rapid Response Labour Mechanism of the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement: The Case Study Research and Lessons for the European Union
Abstract
The aim of this article is to discuss a sanction-based model of labour provisions in free trade agreements (FTAs) adopted by the United States, against the background of the EU “promotional model” focusing on dialogue and cooperation. Using the case study research method, the authors analyses the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) cases and the procedures adopted in the Rapid Response Labour Mechanism (RRLM). The findings of this paper reveal, among other things, that most USMCA cases were successful. The article shows that the EU should enter FTA negotiations with hard provisions in the templates on the table and should stick to both the pre-ratification and post-ratification conditionality which could increase the enforceability of labour provisions in FTAs.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
LITERATURE
Arnaud L., From NAFTA to USMCA: Revisiting the Market Access – Policy Space Trade-Off, “New Political Economy” 2024, vol. 29(3), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13563467.2023.2260986
Blecker R.A., The Rebranded NAFTA: Will the USMCA Achieve the Goals of the Trump Administration for North American Trade?, “Norteamérica: Revista Académica del CISAN-UNAM” 2021, vol. 16(2), DOI: https://doi.org/10.22201/cisan.24487228e.2021.2.516
Bonne W., Unresolved Labor Disputes under the USMCA’s Rapid Response Mechanism: Probing the Applicability of the ATS in Light of Nestlé v. Doe, “New York University Journal of Law and Business” 2022, vol. 19(1).
Borchert I., Conconi P., Di Ubaldo M., Herghelegiu C., The Pursuit of Non-Trade Policy Objectives in EU Trade Policy, “World Trade Review” 2021, vol. 20(5), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1474745621000070
Burfisher M.E., Lambert F., Matheson T., NAFTA To USMCA: What Is Gained?, “IMF Working Papers” 2019, no. 73, DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781498303286.001
Campos Ortiz F.E., Labor Regimes and Free Trade in North America: From the North American Free Trade Agreement to the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement, “Latin American Policy” 2019, vol. 10(2), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/lamp.12171
Castellanos Villalobos M., Libertad sindical en México. Aplicación de los convenios 87 y 98 de la OIT en relación con las obligaciones derivadas del T-mec, “Revista Vox Juris” 2023, vol. 41(1), DOI: https://doi.org/10.24265/VOXJURIS.2023.v41n1.09
Corvaglia M.A., Labour Rights Protection and Its Enforcement under the USMCA: Insights from a Comparative Legal Analysis, “World Trade Review” 2021, vol. 20(5), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1474745621000239
Covarrubias V.A., El T-MEC y la tercera generación de arreglos laborales. Los escenarios probables para el trabajo y la industria regional, “Norteamérica, revista académica del CISAN-UNAM” 2021, vol. 16(1), DOI: https://doi.org/10.22201/cisan.24487228e.2021.1.470
Covarrubias V.A., Dufour-Poirier M., El T-MEC y la tercera generación de arreglos laborales: De las experiencias previas en Latinoamérica al futuro previsible para las relaciones industriales mexicanas, “Norteamérica: Revista Académica del CISAN-UNAM” 2023, vol. 18(1), DOI: https://doi.org/10.22201/cisan.24487228e.2023.1.591
Finbow R.G., Populist Backlash and Trade Agreements in North America: The Prospects for Progressive Trade, “Politics and Governance” 2023, vol. 11(1), DOI: https://doi.org/10.17645/pag.v11i1.6078
Karski K., Migration, [in:] International Law from a Central European Perspective, ed. A. Raisz, Miskolc–Budapest 2022, DOI: https://doi.org/10.54171/2022.ar.ilfcec_10
Mateiescu S., The Limits of Interventionism – Causality in the Social Sciences, [in:] Probabilities, Laws, and Structures, eds. D. Dieks, W.J. González, S. Hartmann, M. Stöltzner, M. Weber, Dordrecht 2012, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-3030-4_10
Russo F., Causality and Causal Modelling in the Social Sciences: Measuring Variations, New York 2009, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8817-9
Scherrer C., Novel Labour-Related Clauses in a Trade Agreement: From NAFTA to USMCA, “Global Labour Journal” 2020, vol. 11(3), DOI: https://doi.org/10.15173/glj.v11i3.4228
Tyc A., Global Trade, Labour Rights and International Law: A Multilevel Approach, London 2021, DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003159612
Zeigler D.H., Rights Require Remedies: A New Approach to the Enforcement of Rights in the Federal Courts, “Hastings Law Journal” 1986–1987, vol. 38(665).
Zeigler D.H., Rights, Rights of Action, and Remedies: An Integrated Approach, “Washington Law Review” 2021, vol. 76(1).
ONLINE SOURCES
Agreement Between the United States of America, the United Mexican States, and Canada, Mexico – Measures Concerning Labor Rights at the San Martin Mine (MEX-USA-2023-31A-01), 26.4.2024, https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/San%20Martin%20-%20Panel%20Determination%20-%20For%20Posting.pdf (access: 19.9.2025).
Bureau of International Labor Affairs, USMCA Cases, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/our-work/trade/labor-rights-usmca-cases (access: 19.9.2025).
INISA, Course of Remediation, 8.8.2023, https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/INISA%20-%20Course%20of%20Remediation.final%20(8.8.2023).pdf (access: 19.9.2025).
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17951/g.2025.72.2.171-186
Date of publication: 2025-12-23 09:10:38
Date of submission: 2025-09-19 16:37:00
Statistics
Indicators
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Copyright (c) 2025
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.