[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 104 (Tuesday, May 31, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31365-31366]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-13342]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Secretary of Labor


Notice of Final Determination Revising the List of Products 
Requiring Federal Contractor Certification as to Forced or Indentured 
Child Labor Pursuant to Executive Order 13126

AGENCY: Bureau of International Labor Affairs, Labor.

ACTION: Notice of Final Determination.

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SUMMARY: This final determination revises the list required by 
Executive Order No. 13126 (``Prohibition of Acquisition of Products 
Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor''), in accordance with the 
``Procedural Guidelines for the Maintenance of the List of Products 
Requiring Federal Contractor Certification as to Forced or Indentured 
Child Labor.'' This notice adds a product, hand-woven textiles from 
Ethiopia, to the list that the Departments of Labor, State and Homeland 
Security believe might have been mined, produced, or manufactured by 
forced or indentured child labor. This notice also removes charcoal 
from Brazil from the list, as the Departments of Labor, State and 
Homeland Security have a reasonable basis to believe that the use of 
forced or indentured child labor has been significantly reduced. Under 
a final rule of the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Councils, published 
January 18, 2001, which also implements Executive Order No. 13126, 
federal contractors who supply products on this list are required to 
certify, among other things, that they have made a good faith effort to 
determine whether forced or indentured child labor was used to produce 
the item.

DATES: This document is effective immediately upon publication of this 
notice.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Executive Order No. 13126 (EO 13126), which was published in the 
Federal Register on June 16, 1999 (64 FR 32383), 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 good, wares, articles, and 
merchandise mined, produced or manufactured wholly or in part by forced 
or indentured child labor.'' Pursuant to EO 13126, and following public 
notice and comment, the Department of Labor published in the January 
18, 2001 Federal Register, a list of products (the ``EO List''), 
identified by their country of origin, that the Department, in 
consultation and cooperation with the Departments of State and Treasury 
[relevant responsibilities now within the Department of Homeland 
Security], had a reasonable basis to believe might have been mined, 
produced or manufactured with forced or indentured child labor (66 FR 
5353).
    Pursuant to Section 3 of EO 13126, the Federal Acquisition 
Regulatory Councils published a final rule in the Federal Register on 
January 18, 2001, providing, amongst other requirements, that federal 
contractors who supply products that appear on the EO List published 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. See 48 CFR Subpart 22.15.
    The Department also published on January 18, 2001, ``Procedural 
Guidelines for Maintenance of the List of Products Requiring Federal 
Contractor Certification as to Forced or Indentured Child Labor'' 
(Procedural Guidelines), which provide for maintaining, reviewing, and, 
as appropriate, revising the EO List (66 FR 5351). The Procedural 
Guidelines provide that the List may be revised through consideration 
of submissions by individuals and on the Department's

[[Page 31366]]

own initiative. In either event, when proposing to revise the List, the 
Department of Labor must publish in the Federal Register a notice of 
initial determination, which includes any proposed alteration to the 
List. The Department will consider all public comments prior to the 
publication of a final determination of a revised list, which is made 
in consultation and cooperation with the Departments of State and 
Homeland Security.
    On September 11, 2009, the Department of Labor published an initial 
determination in the Federal Register proposing to revise the List to 
include 29 products from 21 countries. The Notice requested public 
comments for a period of 90 days. Public comments were received and 
reviewed by all relevant agencies, and a final determination was issued 
on July 20, 2010 that included all products proposed in the initial 
determination except for carpets from India. (75 FR 42164).
    On December 16, 2010, in consultation and cooperation with the 
Departments of State and Homeland Security, the Department of Labor 
published an initial determination proposing to revise the EO List in 
the Federal Register (75 FR 78755). The notice explained how the 
initial determination was made and invited public comment through 
February 15, 2011. The initial determination and Procedural Guidelines 
can be accessed on the Internet at http://www.dol.gov/ILAB/regs/eo13126/main.htm or can be obtained from: Office of Child Labor, Forced 
Labor, and Human Trafficking (OCFT), Bureau of International Labor 
Affairs, Room S-5317, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution 
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone: (202) 693-4843; fax (202) 
693-4830.

II. Summary of Significant Comments

    Three public comments were received, from the Apparel Export 
Promotion Council of India (AEPC), the Child Labor Coalition (CLC), and 
the International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF). All comments are available 
for public viewing at http://www.regulations.gov (reference Docket ID 
No. DOL-2010-0005). In developing the revised list of products, these 
public comments have been carefully reviewed and considered. The AEPC 
submission discussed the garment and zari industries in India, while 
the CLC submission discussed a range of topics including the carpet 
industry in India, a[ccedil]a[iacute] berry production in Brazil, and 
child labor in the United States. However, none of the topics discussed 
in the AEPC or CLC submissions were germane to the initial 
determination, so only the comments from ILRF are discussed below. The 
comments of the AEPC and the CLC will be retained and considered in 
future reviews.
    ILRF's comments related to the methodology and process used to 
remove products from the EO List, in particular, Brazilian charcoal. 
ILRF agreed with our initial determination that charcoal from Brazil be 
removed from the EO List. More broadly, ILRF agreed with our baseline 
benchmarks for removal of a product, including demonstrated 
quantitative and qualitative evidence of ``virtual elimination'' of 
forced child labor in an industry. ILRF emphasized the important role 
that third-party, independent monitoring and verification had played in 
significantly reducing forced child labor in the Brazilian charcoal 
industry, as well as government enforcement and public education. The 
Department appreciates this specific feedback on our methodology and 
process.

III. Revised List of Products

    It has been determined appropriate to publish a revised list of 
products that reflects the changes proposed in the initial 
determination. No new information was provided through public comments 
to negate the proposed revisions in the initial determination. The 
basis for each of these revisions to the EO List is set forth in the 
Department of Labor's December 16, 2010, notice in the Federal Register 
(75 FR 78755).
    Accordingly, based on recent, credible, and appropriately 
corroborated information from various sources, the Department of Labor, 
the Department of State, and the Department of Homeland Security have 
concluded that there is a reasonable basis to believe that the 
following product, identified by its country of origin, might have been 
mined, produced, or manufactured by forced or indentured child labor:

PRODUCT

    Hand-Woven Textiles

COUNTRY

    Ethiopia
    In addition, the Department of Labor, the Department of State, and 
the Department of Homeland Security have concluded that there is a 
reasonable basis to believe that forced or indentured child labor has 
been significantly reduced in the production of the following product, 
identified by its country of origin:

PRODUCT

    Charcoal

COUNTRY

    Brazil
    The bibliographies providing the basis for the three agencies' 
decisions on each product are available on the Internet at http://www.dol.gov/ILAB/regs/eo13126/main.htm.

    Signed at Washington, DC, this 24th day of May 2011.
Sandra Polaski,
Deputy Undersecretary, Bureau of International Labor Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2011-13342 Filed 5-27-11; 8:45 am]
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