[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 212 (Monday, November 3, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62329-62330]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-27569]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Secretary


Bureau of International Labor Affairs; Request for Information 
Concerning Labor Rights in the Dominican Republic and Its Laws 
Governing Exploitative Child Labor

AGENCIES: Office of the Secretary, Labor; Office of the United States 
Trade Representative and Department of State.

ACTION: Request for comments from the public.

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SUMMARY: This notice is a request for comments from the public to 
assist the Secretary of Labor, the United States Trade Representative, 
and the Secretary of State in preparing reports regarding labor rights 
in the Dominican Republic and describing the extent to which it has in 
effect laws governing exploitative child labor. The Trade Act of 2002 
requires reports on these issues and others when the President intends 
to use trade promotion authority procedures in connection with 
legislation approving and implementing a trade agreement. The President 
assigned the functions of preparing reports regarding labor rights and 
the existence of laws governing exploitative child labor to the 
Secretary of Labor, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the 
United States Trade Representative. The Secretary of Labor further 
assigned these functions to the Secretary of State and the United 
States Trade Representative, to be carried out by the Secretary of 
Labor, the Secretary

[[Page 62330]]

of State and the United States Trade Representative.

DATES: Public comments should be received no later than 5 p.m. December 
18, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Persons submitting comments are strongly advised to make 
such submissions by electronic mail to the following address: 
[email protected]. Submissions by facsimile may be sent 
to: Betsy White, Office of International Economic Affairs, Bureau of 
International Labor Affairs, U.S. Department of Labor, at (202) 693-
4851.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For procedural questions regarding the 
submissions, please contact Betsy White, Office of International 
Economic Affairs, Bureau of International Labor Affairs, U.S. 
Department of Labor, at (202) 693-4919, facsimile (202) 693-4851. These 
are not toll-free numbers. Substantive questions concerning the labor 
rights report and/or the report on the Dominican Republic's laws 
governing exploitative child labor should be addressed to Jorge Perez-
Lopez, Office of International Economic Affairs, Bureau of 
International Labor Affairs, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution 
Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210, telephone (202) 693-4883, facsimile 
(202) 693-4851.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    On August 4, 2003, in accordance with section 2104(a)(1) of the 
Trade Act of 2002, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) 
notified the Congress of the President's intent to enter into free 
trade negotiations with the Dominican Republic. The notification 
letters to the Congress can be found on the USTR Web site at http://www.ustr.gov/new/fta/Dr/2003-08-04-notification-house.pdf and http://www.ustr.gov/new/fta/Dr/2003-08-04-notification-senate.pdf 
respectively. At a public hearing conducted on October 8, 2003, the 
interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) received written 
comments and oral testimony from the public to assist USTR in 
formulating positions and proposals with respect to all aspects of the 
negotiations (68 FR 51167) (Aug. 28, 2003). It is intended that 
negotiations will be launched in January 2004.
    Through these negotiations, we expect to provide for essentially 
the same disciplines as those in the Free Trade Agreement we are 
currently negotiating with the five members of the Central American 
Economic Integration System (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, 
Honduras, and Nicaragua) (CAFTA), and to negotiate specific market 
access commitments with the Dominican Republic.
    The Trade Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107-210) (the Trade Act) sets forth 
special procedures (Trade Promotion Authority) for approval and 
implementation of Agreements subject to meeting conditions and 
requirements in Division B of the Trade Act, ``Bipartisan Trade 
Promotion Authority.'' Section 2102(a)-(c) of the Trade Act includes 
negotiating objectives and a listing of priorities for the President to 
promote in order to ``address and maintain United States 
competitiveness in the global economy'' in pursuing future trade 
agreements. The President assigned several of the functions in section 
2102(c) to the Secretary of Labor. (E.O. 13277). These include the 
functions set forth in section 2102(c)(8), which requires that the 
President ``in connection with any trade negotiations entered into 
under this Act, submit to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House 
of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate a 
meaningful labor rights report of the country, or countries, with 
respect to which the President is negotiating,'' and the function in 
section 2102(c)(9), which requires that the President ``with respect to 
any trade agreement which the President seeks to implement under trade 
authorities procedures, submit to the Congress a report describing the 
extent to which the country or countries that are parties to the 
agreement have in effect laws governing exploitative child labor.''

II. Information Sought

    Interested parties are invited to submit written information as 
specified below to be taken into account in drafting the required 
reports. Materials submitted should be confined to the specific topics 
of the reports. In particular, agencies are seeking written submissions 
on the following topics:
    1. Labor laws of the Dominican Republic, including laws governing 
exploitative child labor, and that country's implementation and 
enforcement of its labor laws and regulations;
    2. The situation in the Dominican Republic with respect to core 
labor standards;
    3. Steps taken by the Dominican Republic to comply with 
International Labor Organization Convention No. 182 on the worst forms 
of child labor; and
    4. The nature and extent, if any, of exploitative child labor in 
the Dominican Republic.
    Section 2113(6) of the Trade Act defines ``core labor standards'' 
as:
    (A) The right of association;
    (B) The right to organize and bargain collectively;
    (C) A prohibition on the use of any form of forced or compulsory 
labor;
    (D) A minimum age for the employment of children; and
    (E) Acceptable conditions of work with respect to minimum wages, 
hours of work, and occupational safety and health.

III. Requirements for Submissions

    This document is a request for facts or opinions submitted in 
response to a general solicitation of comments from the public. To 
ensure prompt and full consideration of submissions, we strongly 
recommend that interested persons submit comments by electronic mail to 
the following e-mail address: [email protected]. Persons 
making submissions by e-mail should use the following subject line: 
``Dominican Republic: Labor Rights and Child Labor Reports.'' Documents 
should be submitted in WordPerfect, MSWord, or text (.TXT) format. 
Supporting documentation submitted as spreadsheets is acceptable in 
Quattro Pro or Excel format. Persons who make submissions by e-mail 
should not provide separate cover letters; information that might 
appear in a cover letter should be included in the submission itself. 
Similarly, to the extent possible, any attachments to the submission 
should be included in the same file as the submission itself, and not 
as separate files. Written comments will be placed in a file open to 
public inspection at the Department of Labor, Room S-5317, 200 
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210, and in the USTR Reading 
Room in Room 3 of the annex of the Office of the USTR, 1724 F Street 
NW., Washington, DC 20508. An appointment to review the file at the 
Department of Labor may be made by contacting Betsy White at (202) 693-
4919. An appointment to review the file at USTR may be made by calling 
(202) 395-6186. The USTR Reading Room is generally open to the public 
from 10 a.m.-12 noon and 1-4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Appointments 
must be scheduled at least 48 hours in advance.

    Signed at Washington, DC, this 27th of October 2003.
Arnold Levine,
Deputy Under Secretary for International Affairs.
[FR Doc. 03-27569 Filed 10-31-03; 8:45 am]
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