U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk asked an international commission to investigate Guatemala’s alleged failure to enforce worker protections, the first labor case brought by the U.S. against a trade-accord partner.
“We expect to see the government of Guatemala take concrete actions to improve its labor-law enforcement to protect the rights of workers,” Kirk said today in an e-mailed statement. “While Guatemala has taken some positive steps over the past several months, its actions and proposals have been insufficient to address what we view as systemic failures.”
