On Monday, August 3, the United States Embassy in Mexico published, on its Twitter account, the “USMCA Hotline”, which is a platform to receive complaints or information on labor matters. This should not come as a surprise because it was foreseen in article 717 of the USMCA Implementation Act.
El Comité Laboral Interinstitucional para Monitoreo y Aplicación Laboral de #EEUU ha establecido un sitio electrónico multilingüe para recibir información confidencial sobre cuestiones laborales de partes interesadas en países integrantes del #TMEC. https://t.co/fEhcRJbD1J
— Embajada EU en Mex (@USEmbassyMEX) August 4, 2020
Through this “Hot-Line”, people will be able to write confidentially, either anonymously or by leaving their contact details, about issues related to “denials” of labor rights.
In essence, this mechanism will allow the gathering of information and testimonies that could eventually be used to present a USMCA “labor case”. Notwithstanding the foregoing, it is important to mention that if a party (e.g. the US) wishes to activate the rapid response mechanism, for example, the complaining party must have “good faith basis”; that is, having credible evidence or causes. In this sense, one or several anonymous complaints – by themselves – can hardly be classified as a good faith basis. However, a complaint through the USMCA Hotline can trigger the investigation by the US labor attaches in Mexico and, therefore, obtain additional evidence or elements to support a USMCA labor review.
On Thursday, August 6, 2020, President Trump announced the “re-imposition” of tariffs on certain Canadian aluminum products because they were “flooding” the American market and, therefore, such measures are necessary to protect the industry from the USA based on section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act.
The proclamation can be found at the following link: Proclamation on Adjusting Imports of Aluminum Into the United States.
Steel and aluminum from Mexico (as well as from Canada) were also subject, at the time, to tariffs in the US for national security reasons. However, these tariffs were eliminated on May 19, 2019, as we reported.
By virtue of the actions of the US government, the Mexican government will increase the “control” of steel and aluminum exports through an automatic license, as reported in a media outlet, for the purpose of avoiding the increase of exports through transshipment.
On Monday, our firm organized a webinar on the alert issued by the Tax Authorities (SAT) on Wednesday, August 5, which defines the guidelines for the retroactive payment of fees for those companies that obtained their registration as under the Certified Company Scheme.
Our partner Eduardo Zepeda, leader of the practice regarding the legal aspects of the manufacturing or maquila industry, commented that this issue is “regrettable and worrisome”, pointing out the numerous deficiencies in the legal grounds and reasoning on behalf of the SAT.
For his part, Eduardo González, leader of the litigation practice, presented the recommended legal strategy to avoid possible reprisals from the SAT, such as the non-renewal of the Certified Company Scheme registration (VAT / IEPS Certification, OEA, among others).
Should you wish more information on the recommended legal strategy, please let us know.
232, aluminium, labor, steel, tariffs, The Trading Room, Trading Room, USMCA
Our associate, Emilio Arteaga, reviews Mexico’s trade remedy system, in particular, antidumping duties, as well as trade developments in 2018.
In the video, our associate provides historic figures regarding investigations, antidumping duties, protected industries, and targeted countries. Also, our associate reviews Mexico’s practice regarding whether China qualifies as a Market Economy or Non-Market Economy in antidumping proceedings is addressed.
antidumping, China, Countervailing measures, International Trade, Market economy, Mexico, NAFTA, Non-market economy, steel, subsidies, trade, Trade Remedy, USMCA, WTO
This week on the Trading Room:
Mirror Countermeasures
The new Mexican administration is considering to modify its countermeasures in response to the US 232 tariffs on Mexican aluminum and steel imports. In November, the Senate requested the Ministry of Economy to “mirror” the US 232 measures…See More
G20 Leaders: WTO reform
Last week was the G20 Summit held in Buenos Aires. The G20’s Leaders Declaration, a six pages document, address a handful of issues such as: transformative technology, digitalization, inclusive work, renewable energy and global warming, food security, finance, currency, international taxation (BEPS)…See More
Esta semana en Trading Room:
Represalias Espejo
La nueva administración mexicana está considerando modificar sus represalias en respuesta a los aranceles de los EEUU sobre las importaciones de acero y aluminio de México. En noviembre, el Senado solicitó a la Secretaría de Economía medidas “espejo” como las que impuso EEUU bajo la Sección 232…Ver más
Líderes del G20: Reforma OMC
La semana pasada se celebró en Buenos Aires la Cumbre del G20. La Declaración de Líderes del G20, un documento de seis hojas, aborda varios temas como: tecnología transformativas, digitalización, trabajo inclusivo, energía renovable y calentamiento global, seguridad alimentaria, finanzas, moneda, tratados tributarios (BEPS)…Ver más
acero, aluminio, aluminium, Comercio exterior, Comercio Internacional, countermeasures, Estados Unidos, G20, International Trade, Mexico, NAFTA, OMC, represalias, Secretaría de Economía, steel, TLCAN
This week on the Trading Room:
Esta semana en “Trading Room”:
European Union, NAFTA, steel, tariffs, TLCAN, TLCUEM, United States
Today, the Ministry of Economy issued its decision to initiate an antidumping investigation on Steel Plate from Italy and Japan. For more information, feel free to access our trade alert that includes the list of exporters from Italy and Japan: VTZ- Alert Antidumping- Steel from Italy and Japan.
In the past years, the Mexican Ministry of Economy has targeted steel products from all around the globe and established antidumping duties. In fact, the majority of antidumping duties in force in Mexico apply to the metallic industries and its manufactured goods. Undertakings are rare in Mexico, two are currently in force and one relates to colled-rolled steel from Korea, where VTZ successfully advised the Korean producers.
For an overview of trade remedies in Mexico, see our publication in the International Trade Law Review.
For additional information concerning the Antidumping Investigation on Steel Plate from Italy and Japan, do not hesitate to contact any VTZ member.
Our partner, Adrián Vázquez, and associate, Emilio Arteaga, contributed again in the second edition of the International Trade Law Review. In this edition, our members described the recent developments in the trade law field in Mexico during 2015-2016. In particular, the chapter notes the issues regarding global steel overcapacity and the actions taken by the Mexican government. The chapter is divided in the following sections:
For the complete text of the chapter, please visit the next link: Mexico
International Trade, international trade law review, Mexico, NAFTA, steel, trade, WTO
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