UAW issues trade demands ahead May 25

Shawn Fain and the United Auto Workers used the days before May 25 talks in Mexico City to press for a rewrite of North American auto trade rules. The union said the 2026 review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement should produce tougher labor standards, penalties for offshoring and a requirement that companies “build here to sell here.” The push comes as U.S. and Mexican officials prepare for a first official bilateral negotiating round ahead of the agreement’s formal joint review on July 1, 2026. Canada was not scheduled to take part in the May 25 Mexico City talks, according to reporting by the Jefferson City News-Tribune and other U.S. outlets, amid a tariff impasse with Washington. ### What exactly is the UAW asking for before the Mexico City talks? The UAW said it wants a North American minimum manufacturing wage, harsher penalties for companies that offshore jobs and a rule requiring firms to “build here to sell here.” In a November 2025 post laying out its priorities for the USMCA review, the union said those changes were needed to stop what Fain called a “global race to the bottom.” (newstribune.com) Rajiv Sicora, the UAW’s legislative director, told reporters this week that the union wants a new tri-national system of labor rights and wages and argued the current deal should be “completely rewritten” to work for workers. Spectrum News reported Sicora said that if a rewrite cannot happen, “then we need to get out of the deal.” (uaw.org) ### Why is this all happening now, before July 1? July 1, 2026 is the date set in the agreement for the formal joint review by the Free Trade Commission, the body made up of representatives of the United States, Mexico and Canada. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in a 2025 Federal Register notice that the review is required on the sixth anniversary of the pact’s entry into force. (spectrumlocalnews.com) The same notice said the USMCA took effect on July 1, 2020 and is set to terminate 16 years later unless each country confirms it wants to continue it for a new 16-year term. That is why current coverage describes the agreement as remaining in force until 2036 unless a party decides otherwise. (federalregister.gov) ### Who is actually meeting in Mexico City on May 25? Jamieson Greer, the U.S. trade representative, and Mexican Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard agreed in April to hold a first official bilateral negotiating round for the USMCA review in Mexico City the week of May 25, according to a joint statement from Greer’s office. The statement said Greer also met Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum in Mexico City on April 20. (federalregister.gov) The May 25 round appears to be a U.S.-Mexico session rather than a full trilateral review. News reports cited by the card said Canada was not expected at those talks because of a dispute over tariffs between Prime Minister Mark Carney and President Donald Trump. ### Why is the union focusing so heavily on auto production? (ustr.gov) The UAW has argued that both NAFTA and the USMCA encouraged companies to move production to lower-wage plants in Mexico while continuing to sell vehicles into the U.S. market. In its 2025 statement, the union said 5 million manufacturing jobs had been lost since NAFTA and 90,000 plants had closed, and Fain said the current trade framework had failed to stop that damage. (bluewaterhealthyliving.com) Spectrum News reported the union says the current arrangement has produced lower wages for U.S. and Mexican workers while boosting automaker profits. That framing is central to the union’s case for wage floors and cross-border labor enforcement in any revised deal. ### What happens next after this week’s demands? May 25 is the next concrete date on the calendar, with U.S. and Mexican officials due in Mexico City for the first bilateral negotiating round. (uaw.org) July 1, 2026 is the formal joint-review date written into Article 34.7 of the USMCA, when the three governments are supposed to evaluate the pact and indicate whether they want to extend it. (spectrumlocalnews.com) Canada remains part of the agreement even if it is absent from this week’s session. The next formal milestone is the Free Trade Commission’s July 1 review, with the United States, Mexico and Canada named in the agreement as the parties that must decide whether the pact continues beyond 2036. (federalregister.gov) (ustr.gov)