As Workers Fall Ill, U.S. Presses Mexico to Keep American-Owned Plants Open
The Trump administration and major U.S. manufacturers have successfully pressured Mexico to keep factories that supply the United States operating during the coronavirus pandemic, even as outbreaks erupt and waves of cases and deaths sweep the companies.
The lobbying group for large manufacturers in the United States pressed Mexico to reopen plants south of the border, effectively putting American interests ahead of Mexican public health measures.
And in a blunt warning, the U.S. ambassador said that if Mexico did not respond to American needs, it would lose the jobs these factories provide. U.S. ambassador said that if Mexico did not respond to American needs, it would lose the jobs these factories provide. Ambassador Christopher Landau said on Twitter. “Of course health comes first, but to me it seems myopic to suggest that economic effects don’t matter.”
The United States is urging Mexico to allow exemptions for workers whose services are essential — not to Mexico, but to the United States. Michael Kozak, an acting assistant secretary at the State Department, said his agency “has been working very closely with Mexico, advocating for American firms” to avoid disruptions in the supply chain.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/30/world/americas/coronavirus-mexico-factories.html
