US Department of Labor, Office of the US Trade Representative convene inaugural meeting of US-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s Labor Council

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative met with their counterparts in the Mexican and Canadian governments June 29 for the first meeting of the Labor Council as established under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

Led by U.S. Department of Labor’s Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs Thea Lee and Acting Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Labor Joshua Kagan, the U.S. delegation participated in a government-to-government meeting followed by a virtual public session on implementing the USMCA’s labor chapter.

During the first meeting, the council discussed the domestic mechanisms, institutions and procedures that each party is employing to advance the fulfillment of the USMCA labor chapter’s provisions. In addition, the council held in-depth discussions on several topics, including:

–       USMCA’s requirement that each party prohibit the importation of goods into its territory from other sources produced in whole, or in part by forced or compulsory labor.

–       Ongoing implementation of Mexico’s recent historic labor law reform.

–       Labor policies for migrant workers.

–       Areas for ongoing and future cooperation and technical capacity building.

At the virtual public session, workers, employers, civil society organizations and the general public contributed to a discussion on matters related to the implementation of the USMCA’s labor chapter.

Details: Read the Labor Council’s joint statement. www.dol.gov/ILAB/FINAL_Joint_Statement_of_the_Labor_Council 

Learn more about the bureau’s work. www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab 

Learn more about the work of USTR’s Labor Office. https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/labor