[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 12 (Thursday, January 18, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5351-5352]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-952]



  Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 12 / Thursday, January 18, 2001 / 
Notices  

[[Page 5351]]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Secretary


Bureau of International Labor Affairs; Procedural Guidelines for 
the Maintenance of the List of Products Requiring Federal Contractor 
Certification as to Forced or Indentured Child Labor Under 48 CFR 
Subpart 22.15 and E.O. 13126

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Labor.

ACTION: Notice of procedural guidelines.

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SUMMARY: This notice sets out procedural guidelines pertaining to the 
submission of information, review, and reporting process utilized by 
the Department of Labor's International Child Labor Program in 
maintaining and revising the list of products requiring certification 
as to forced or indentured child labor, pursuant to amendments to the 
Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), 48 CFR Subpart 22.15 and 
Executive Order No. 13126 (``Prohibition of Acquisition of Products 
Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor'').

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 18, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ami Thakkar, International Child Labor 
Program, Bureau of International Labor Affairs, Room S-5303, U.S. 
Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 
20210; telephone: (202) 208-4843; fax: (202) 219-4923.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Executive Order No. 13126 (``Prohibition of 
Acquisition of Products Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor'') 
was signed by President Clinton on June 12, 1999. The Executive Order 
declared that it was ``the policy of the United States Government * * * 
that the executive agencies shall take appropriate actions to enforce 
the laws prohibiting the manufacture or importation of goods, wares, 
articles, and merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in 
part by forced or indentured child labor.''
    Pursuant to Section 2 of the Executive Order, and following public 
notice and comment (including a public hearing held on August 10, 
1999), the Department of Labor is publishing in today's Federal 
Register a final list of products, identified by their country of 
origin, that the Department, in consultation and cooperation with the 
Departments of State and Treasury, has a reasonable basis to believe 
might have mined, produced or manufactured with forced or indentured 
child labor. The List can be accessed on the Internet at www.dol.gov/dol/ilab or can be obtained from: International Child Labor Program, 
Bureau of International Labor Affairs, Room S-5303, U.S. Department of 
Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone: 
(202) 208-4843; fax (202) 219-4923.
    Pursuant to Section 3 of the Executive Order, in today's Federal 
Register, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Councils published a final 
rule, pursuant to which federal contractors who supply products which 
appear on the list issued by the Department of Labor must certify to 
the contracting officer that the contractor or, in the case of an 
incorporated contractor, a responsible official of the contractor has 
made a good faith effort to determine whether forced or indentured 
child labor was used to mine, produce, or manufacture any product 
furnished under the contract and that, on the basis of those efforts, 
the contractor is unaware of any such use of child labor. The 
regulation also imposes other requirements with respect to contracts 
for products on the Department of Labor's list.
    The Department of Labor expects that, over time, new information 
may become available with respect to the use of forced or indentured 
child labor and that other developments relevant to the list of 
products requiring certification as to forced or indentured child labor 
may occur. For example, new instances of the use of forced or 
indentured child labor may be discovered. Alternatively, the practice 
of using forced or indentured child labor in a particular country or 
industry may be effectively eliminated.
    Accordingly, to carry out the purposes of FAR Subpart 22.15 and 
Executive Order No. 13126, the Department of Labor, may be required to 
examine and/or revise the list originally published today. The 
Department of Labor believes that it would be appropriate to establish 
a process by which members of the public may bring relevant information 
to the attention of the Department of Labor.
    This Notice sets out the procedural guidelines that the Department 
of Labor intends to follow to maintain, examine, and, as appropriate, 
revise the list of products required by Executive Order No. 13126 and 
incorporated in 48 CFR Subpart 22.15. Under the guidelines, public 
notice and opportunity for comment will be provided before a product is 
added to, or deleted from, the Department of Labor's list.

    Signed at Washington, DC, this 5th day of January, 2001.
Andrew J. Samet,
Deputy Under Secretary for International Affairs.

Notice of Procedural Guidelines

Section A. What Department of Labor Office Is Responsible for 
Maintaining the List of Products Requiring Federal Contractor 
Certification as to Forced or Indentured Child Labor?

    1. The International Child Labor Program, within the Bureau of 
International Labor Affairs of the U.S. Department of Labor, will 
review all submissions of information relevant to the List of Products 
Requiring Federal Contractor Certification as to Forced or Indentured 
Child Labor, as published pursuant to Executive Order No. 13126 
(``Prohibition of Acquisition of Products Produced by Forced or 
Indentured Child Labor''), and reflected in the FAR 48 CFR Subpart 
22.15.
    2. The International Child Labor Program, in consultation with the 
Departments of State and Treasury, will determine if such submissions 
may establish the need to add entries to, or delete entries from, the 
List of Products Requiring Federal Contractor Certification as to 
Forced or Indentured Child Labor.
Section B. What Do the Terms Used in These Procedural Guidelines Mean?
    As used in these Guidelines:
    ``Adequate information'' means information relevant to the 
development of a reasonable basis for belief that a particular product 
included or not included on the List might have been mined, produced, 
or manufactured wholly or in part by forced or indentured child labor;
    ``The List'' means the List of Products Requiring Contractor 
Certification as to Forced or Indentured Child Labor as published in 
accordance with Executive Order 13126 and reflected in FAR 48 CFR 
Subpart 22.15;
    ``Non-governmental organization'' means any scientific, 
professional, business, non-profit, or public interest organization or 
association which is neither affiliated with, nor under the direction 
of, a government;
    ``Office'' means the International Child Labor Program of the 
Bureau of International Labor Affairs of the United States Department 
of Labor;
    ``Person'' means one or more individuals, non-governmental 
organizations, labor organizations, partnerships, associations, 
corporations, governmental entities, or legal representatives.

[[Page 5352]]

Section C. What Are the Functions of the Office With Respect to the 
List?

    1. The Office shall--
    (a) In consultation and cooperation with the Departments of State 
and Treasury, compile and maintain a current list of products and their 
countries of origin contained on the List;
    (b) Periodically review and revise the List, as appropriate, either 
on the basis of information submissions from members of the public or 
on its own initiative, subject to public notice and comment;
    (c) Receive, accept for review, and review information submissions 
pertaining to the inclusion on or deletion from the List, as set out in 
Sections D, E, and F;
    (a) Consider and weigh several factors including: the nature of the 
information describing the use of forced or indentured child labor; the 
source of the information; the date of the information; the extent of 
corroboration of the information by appropriate sources; whether the 
information involved more than an isolated incident; and whether recent 
and credible efforts are being made to address forced or indentured 
child labor in a particular country and industry; and
    (e) Include in the List the name and telephone number of the office 
responsible for its maintenance.
    2. The List shall indicate--
    (a) The names of products, identified by their country of origin, 
for which there is a reasonable basis to believe that the product might 
have been mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part by forced 
or indentured child labor;
    (b) The date on which the product was included on the List.
    3. Questions on the List--information is available by direct 
request to the Office by writing the International Child Labor Program, 
Bureau of International Labor Affairs, Rm. S-5303, U.S. Department of 
Labor, 200 Constitution Ave, NW., Washington, DC 20210.

Section D. How May a Person Submit Information to the Office Regarding 
Adding or Deleting a Product From the List?

    1. Any person may file an information submission with the Office 
regarding either the inclusion of a product on the List or the deletion 
of a product from the List. A single copy is satisfactory for filing. 
Filing may be by hand delivery, mail delivery, or facsimile 
transmission.
    2. The submission should identify clearly the person filing the 
submission and should be signed and dated. It should state with 
specificity the product and its country of origin which the submitter 
requests the Office to consider and should include relevant information 
available to the submitter.

Section E. How will the Office decide to accept a submission of 
information?

    1. Within 60 days, unless there are good reasons for delay, the 
Office will decide whether to accept a submission of information for 
review. The Office may communicate with the submitter during this 
period regarding any matter relating to the decision.
    2. In general, the Office may accept a submission of information if 
it provides adequate information and if a review would not be 
inconsistent with Executive Order No. 13126 or applicable laws or 
regulations.
    3. The Office may decline to accept a submission for review if, in 
its discretion, it determines that:
    (a) The submission does not identify clearly the person filing the 
submission or is not signed and dated;
    (b) The submission does not provide adequate information;
    (c) The matter raised is not within the scope of 48 CFR Subpart 
22.15 or Executive Order No. 13126.
    (d) The submission is substantially similar to a recent submission 
and significant new information has not been provided; or
    (e) Review of the submission would otherwise be inappropriate.
    4. If the Office declines to accept a submission for review, the 
Office promptly will notify the submitter in writing and will provide 
the reasons for the decision.
    5. If the Office accepts a submission of information, review will 
follow those procedures described in Section F.

Section F. What review process will be followed after a submission of 
information is accepted by the Office?

    1. Following a decision by the Office to accept a submission of 
information, the Office will conduct such further examination of the 
available information as necessary or appropriate to assist the Office 
in making a determination.
    2. Except for information exempt from public inspection, 
information relevant to the review will be placed in a public file. 
Information exempt from public inspection will be placed in a separate 
file.
    3. The Office, in its discretion, may hold a hearing regarding the 
product raised in the submission of information, for the purpose of 
receiving information from interested persons.
    4. The Office, after consulting with the Departments of Treasury 
and State, will publish in the Federal Register a notice of initial 
determination, which will include any proposed alteration to be made to 
the List. Public comments will be accepted for at least 30 days 
following publication of the Federal Register notice. Submissions 
relating to the same product and country may be resolved by joint 
determinations.
    5. Any person may submit, in person, in writing, or through a 
representative, information and argument in support of or in opposition 
to the proposed determination, including any additional specific 
information that relates to the proposed revision of the List. The 
Office will consider all comments prior to publication of a final 
determination, which will be made in consultation and cooperation with 
the Departments of State and Treasury.

Section G. What process will the Office use to update the List on its 
own initiative?

    1. If the Office obtains adequate information, other than through 
public submission, it will publish in the Federal Register a notice of 
initial determination, which will include any proposed alteration to be 
made to the List. Public comments will be accepted for at least 30 days 
following publication of the notice of initial determination.
    2. Any person may submit, in person, in writing, or through a 
representative, information and argument in support of or in opposition 
to the initial determination, including any additional specific 
information that relates to the proposed revision of the List. The 
Office will consider all comments prior to publication of a final 
determination, made in consultation and cooperation with the 
Departments of State and Treasury.

Section H. How will the Office communicate a final determination about 
a product's placement on the List?

    1. A final determination on whether a product will be added to, or 
deleted from, the List will be published in the Federal Register.
    2. The List will be revised in accordance with a final 
determination as to a particular product, identified by its country of 
origin. The Office will maintain a current copy of the List.

[FR Doc. 01-952 Filed 1-17-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-28-P