WASHINGTON – The Office of the United States Trade Representative has invoked the Rapid Response Labor Mechanism (RRM) in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) to review whether workers at Yokohama Tire Manufacturing Mexico, S.A. de C.V. (Yokohama), located in the state of Coahuila, Mexico, are being denied the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining. This follows the recent closure of the Yokohama tire manufacturing plant in Salem, Virginia and the layoff of nearly 600 American workers. The United States will suspend the liquidation of all entries of goods from the Yokohama facility, which produces tires, until further notice.
Background
The United States Trade Representative and the Secretary of Labor co-chair the Interagency Labor Committee for Monitoring and Enforcement (ILC). On August 26, 2026, the ILC received an RRM petition from the Liga Sindical Obrera Mexicana (LSOM), a Mexican labor union, and the International Lawyers Assisting Workers Network (ILAW). The petition alleges that Yokohama is violating workers’ rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining by retaliating against workers for engaging in union activity. These actions include engaging in unequal treatment against LSOM supporters, the denial of access to the plant for LSOM special delegates while granting unrestricted access to the representatives of a competing union, irregularities leading up to a Certificate of Representation vote, unlawful dismissals, and non-compliance with the sectoral collective bargaining agreement for the rubber manufacturing industry (known as the “contrato ley”). The ILC reviews RRM petitions that it receives, and the accompanying information, within 30 days.
After conducting this review, the ILC determined that there is sufficient, credible evidence of a denial of rights enabling the good faith invocation of enforcement mechanisms. As a result, the United States Trade Representative has submitted a request to Mexico that Mexico review whether workers at Yokohama are being denied the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining. Mexico has 10 days to agree to conduct a review and, if it agrees, 45 days from today to complete the review.
A copy of the request for review can be found here.
A copy of the letter to the Secretary of the Treasury can be found here.
Information about previous requests can be found here.
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