Key Points:
- White House announces frameworks with Argentina, Guatemala, El Salvador and Ecuador to pursue reciprocal trade agreements that include worker rights requirements.
- New frameworks mirror recent deals with Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia, signaling a coordinated U.S. effort to embed labor protections across multiple regions.
- Countries must protect labor rights and prohibit imports made with forced labor, continuing the administration’s broader supply-chain scrutiny.
- Enforcement of forced-labor bans will be key, especially as companies face growing expectations to map supply chains for forced-labor risks.
- Businesses operating in these countries should track whether the frameworks mature into binding trade agreements and consult labor and trade counsel to prepare.
On Nov. 13, the White House announced “frameworks” with Argentina, Guatemala, El Salvador and Ecuador to pursue reciprocal trade agreements with each country that will include worker rights requirements.
The frameworks are similar to those the United States reached with Vietnam and Thailand last month, and Indonesia in July 2025, which we discussed in a prior alert.
The frameworks provide that the four Latin American countries will protect internationally recognized labor rights and prohibit the importation of goods produced by forced labor.
It remains to be seen how the provisions in the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) and any trade agreements that result from the frameworks will be reconciled. The United States is already a party to CAFTA-DR, as are two of the countries, Guatemala and El Salvador, among others in Latin America.
The protection of worker rights in the U.S.-Guatemala framework is notable in light of a CAFTA-DR labor enforcement case brought by the United States several years ago. This was the first labor dispute brought under any free trade agreement. Guatemala prevailed when an arbitration panel found in 2017 that the United States failed to prove that Guatemala’s violations of CAFTA-DR’s labor rights provisions affected trade within the meaning of that agreement.
Should these frameworks ultimately result in trade agreements, it will be important to see how the United States enforces the ban on the importation of goods produced by forced labor. In recent years, many companies have taken steps to map their supply chains to understand whether inputs to goods they produce were made with forced labor.
Companies with operations in these countries should monitor whether the frameworks result in enforceable trade agreements and contact counsel experienced in labor and international trade law to prepare.
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