Unifor and U.S. commerce secretary agree on key NAFTA strategy: Dias
WASHINGTON — Unifor president Jerry Dias says he and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross have agreed that combating low Mexican wages is the key to breaking the impasse at NAFTA renegotiations.
Both agreed that Canada and the United States have been hurt by the siphoning off of manufacturing jobs to Mexico and must work together to pressure the country to drive up wages, Dias said Tuesday in Washington, D.C.
“He agreed — and we both agreed — the issue is Mexican labour standards,” Dias said.
Dias said he and Ross believe that a united front is needed to raise Mexican living standards and create a level playing field for workers in all three countries in order forge a path to a new NAFTA agreement.