[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 120 (Wednesday, June 23, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35064-35065]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-14167]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Secretary


Bureau of International Labor Affairs; Request for Information 
Concerning Labor Rights in Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and 
Swaziland and Their 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 five member countries of the Southern African Customs Union 
(Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland) and describing 
the extent to which they have 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 of State and the 
United States Trade Representative.

DATES: Public comments should be received no later than 5 p.m. August 
9, 2004.

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 Southern Africa'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 November 4, 2002, 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 Southern African Customs Union. The 
notification letters to the Congress can be found on the USTR Web site 
at http://www.ustr.gov/releases/2002/11/2002-11-04-SACU-byrd.PDF and 
http://www.ustr.gov/releases/2002/11/2002-11-04-SACU-hastert.PDF, 
respectively. At a public hearing conducted on December 16, 2002, 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 (67 FR 69295) (Nov. 15, 2002). Negotiations were launched 
in June 2003.
    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

[[Page 35065]]

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, including laws governing exploitative child labor, 
of the five Southern African countries that are participating in the 
negotiations and each country's implementation and enforcement of its 
labor laws and regulations;
    2. The situation in these five countries of Southern Africa with 
respect to core labor standards;
    3. Steps taken by the five countries 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 
each of these five countries of Southern Africa.
    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: ``Southern 
Africa: 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 in Washington, DC, this 16th of June, 2004.
Martha Newton,
Associate Deputy Under Secretary for International Affairs.
[FR Doc. 04-14167 Filed 6-22-04; 8:45 am]
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