U.S. trade chief Tai vows to use new USMCA trade pact to address Mexican labor issues

© Reuters/POOLU.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai testifies before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on 2022 budget in Washington

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said on Wednesday that she will use the new factory-specific labor enforcement provisions of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade to address longstanding labor issues in Mexico.

Tai told the U.S. Senate Finance Committee in prepared testimony that she will partner with the Mexican government in trying to "prevent a race to the bottom" for U.S. and Mexican workers.

USTR earlier on Wednesday requested that the Mexican government review allegations that worker rights were denied in a union vote at a General Motors truck plant in Mexico under the USMCA's labor provisions.

(Reporting by David Lawder)