MEXICO CITY The United States has asked Mexico to review workers rights at a Teklas Automotive facility in the Mexican state of Aguascalientes, the U.S. Trade Representative's office said on Monday.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said the request was intended to "address a serious violation of workers' rights" at the automotive parts factory, involving an employer possibly terminating workers for engaging in union activity.

The request marks the ninth time in 2023, and fourteenth time overall, that the U.S. has sought Mexico's review under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement (USMCA), which took effect in 2020, the office said.

"Today's action underscores the United States' unceasing commitment to using the tools established in the USMCA to protect workers' rights to organize for and join the union of their choice," Tai said in a statement.

(Reporting by Brendan O'Boyle, Editing by Isabel Woodford)