Photo: The White House from Washington, DC / President Trump at the Signing Ceremony of the USMCA (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons (source)
The United States and Mexico on Friday unveiled a remediation plan for Corporación de Occidente, a tire maker in El Salto, Jalisco that builds automotive and specialty tires, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said.
USTR said the deal is the fourteenth formal remediation the two governments have finished under the Rapid Response Labor Mechanism in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. The plan aims to fix Mexican-law breaches at the plant and keep association and bargaining rights intact.
Company and government steps
Mexico will require the firm to bring back twelve workers USTR called unlawfully fired, restoring wages and benefits in full, or to pay complete severance if a worker chooses that option. The company is also to roll out a neutrality statement and rules on association and bargaining for all staff, with a zero-tolerance rule for breaches; tell workers about the remediation and pledge to respect those rights; create an anonymous tip channel; post neutrality materials, the bargaining agreement, training packets and complaint contacts where workers can find them; track how production materials are handed out; and deliver evaluations, performance notes and incident reports to workers promptly, USTR said.
Mexico’s side includes watching the plant for compliance with the plan and Mexican law on association and bargaining; running in-person rights training for workers, including how dismissed workers can use conciliation; training supervisors, human-resources staff and other “trusted” officials separately; and keeping email, an online portal and a phone line open for anonymous reports of unlawful interference, with prompt probes of those claims.
Case timeline
USTR and the Labor Department jointly lead the Interagency Labor Committee for Monitoring and Enforcement. On Oct. 28, 2025, that panel took a Rapid Response Labor Mechanism petition from two fired workers at the plant. The filing alleged the company and leaders of the sitting union jointly fired and punished workers who criticized the union or its leadership and pushed for more transparent, democratic union representation, USTR said.
The panel found enough credible evidence of a rights denial to invoke enforcement tools in good faith. On Nov. 26, 2025, Washington asked Mexico to review the case. Mexico agreed and, on Jan. 23, 2026, found no denial of rights had occurred. After that probe, the company agreed to take some remedial steps, and the two governments later settled on the remediation course, according to USTR.
What's next
USTR linked to the full remediation text and an unofficial Spanish courtesy translation. Mexico is to monitor the plant against the plan and Mexican labor law; USTR did not set a separate public deadline for finishing every step.
Sources
- Office of the U.S. Trade Representative: United States and Mexico Announce Course of Remediation at Corporación de Occidente Facility (2026-10-02)
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