[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 32 (Thursday, February 16, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9267-9268]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-3592]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR


Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Forced or Indentured Child Labor 
in the Production of Goods in Foreign Countries and Efforts by Certain 
Countries To Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor

AGENCY: The Bureau of International Labor Affairs, United States 
Department of Labor.

ACTION: Notice: Request for information and invitation to comment.

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SUMMARY: This notice is a request for information and/or comment on 
reports issued by the Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) 
October 3, 2011, regarding child labor and forced labor in foreign 
countries. Relevant information will be used by the Department of Labor 
(DOL) in preparation of its ongoing reporting under Congressional 
mandates and Presidential directive. In addition, ILAB may use relevant 
information to conduct assessments of each country's individual 
progress towards eliminating the worst forms of child labor during the 
current reporting period compared to previous years.

DATES: Submitters of information are requested to provide their 
submission to the Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor and Human 
Trafficking (OCFT) at the email or physical address below by 5 p.m. 
March 9, 2012.
    To Submit Information: Information submitted to DOL should be 
submitted directly to OCFT, Bureau of International Labor Affairs, U.S. 
Department of Labor at (202) 693-4843 (this is not a toll free number). 
Comments, identified as ``Docket No. DOL-2011-0002,'' may be submitted 
by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
    The portal includes instructions for submitting comments. Parties 
submitting responses electronically are encouraged not to submit paper 
copies.
     Facsimile (fax): OCFT at 202-693-4830.
     Mail, Express Delivery, Hand Delivery, and Messenger 
Service (2 copies): Tina McCarter at U.S. Department of Labor, OCFT, 
Bureau of International Labor Affairs, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., 
Room S-5317, Washington, DC 20210.
     Email: Email submissions should be addressed to Tina 
McCarter at [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tina McCarter (see contact information 
above).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    I. Section 105(b)(1) of the Trafficking Victims Protection 
Reauthorization Act of 2005 (``TVPRA of 2005''), Public Law 109-164 
(2006), directed the Secretary of Labor, acting through ILAB, to 
``develop and make available to the public a list of goods from 
countries that the Bureau of International Labor Affairs has reason to 
believe are produced by forced labor or child labor in violation of 
international standards'' (TVPRA List).
    Pursuant to this mandate, in December 2007 DOL published in the 
Federal Register a set of procedural guidelines that ILAB follows in 
developing the TVPRA List (72 FR 73374). The guidelines set forth the 
criteria by which information is evaluated; established procedures for 
public submission of information to be considered by ILAB; and 
identified the process ILAB follows in maintaining and updating the 
List after its initial publication.
    ILAB released its first TVPRA List on September 30, 2009, an update 
on December 10, 2010 and another update on October 3, 2011. This List 
is updated periodically as additional countries and territories are 
researched and new information for countries and territories already 
reviewed is evaluated. For a copy of the 2011 TVPRA report, Frequently 
Asked Questions, and other materials relating to the TVPRA List, see 
ILAB's TVPRA Web page at: http://www.dol.gov/ILAB/programs/ocft/tvpra.htm.
    II. Executive Order No. 13126 (E.O. 13126) 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 E.O. 13126, and 
following public notice and comment, the Department of Labor published 
in the January 18, 2001, Federal Register, a final list of products 
(``E.O. List''), identified by country of origin, that the Department, 
in consultation and cooperation with the Departments of State (DOS) and 
Treasury [relevant responsibilities now within the Department of 
Homeland Security (DHS)], had a reasonable basis to believe might have 
been mined, produced or manufactured with forced or indentured child 
labor (66 FR 5353). In addition to the List, 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,'' which provide for maintaining, 
reviewing, and, as appropriate, revising the EO List (66 FR 5351).
    Pursuant to Sections D through G of the Procedural Guidelines, the 
EO List may be updated through consideration of submissions by 
individuals or through OCFT's own initiative.
    DOL has officially revised the EO List twice, on July 20, 2010 and 
May 31, 2011, each time after public notice and comment as well as 
consultation with DOS and DHS. In addition, DOL published an initial 
determination on October 4, 2011 proposing another revision to the EO 
List and requesting public comment (76 FR 61384).
    The current EO List, Procedural Guidelines, and related information 
can be accessed on the Internet at http://www.dol.gov/ILAB/regs/eo13126/main.htm.

[[Page 9268]]

    III. The Trade and Development Act of 2000 (TDA), Public Law 106-
200 (2002), established a new eligibility criterion for receipt of 
trade benefits under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), 
Caribbean Basin Trade and Partnership Act (CBTPA), and Africa Growth 
and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The TDA amends the GSP reporting 
requirements of Section 504 of the Trade Act of 1974, 19 U.S.C. 2464, 
to require that the President's annual report on the status of 
internationally recognized worker rights include ``findings by the 
Secretary of Labor with respect to the beneficiary country's 
implementation of its international commitments to eliminate the worst 
forms of child labor.'' Title II of the TDA and the TDA Conference 
Report, Joint Explanatory Statement of the Committee of Conference, 
106th Cong.2d.Sess. (2000), indicate that the same criterion applies 
for the receipt of benefits under CBTPA and AGOA, respectively.
    In addition, the Andean Trade Preference Act, as amended and 
expanded by the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act, Public 
Law 107-210, Title XXXI (2002), includes as a criterion for receiving 
benefits ``[w]hether the country has implemented its commitments to 
eliminate the worst forms of child labor as defined in section 507(6) 
of the Trade Act of 1974.'' DOL fulfills these reporting mandates 
through annual publication of the U.S. Department of Labor's Findings 
on the Worst Forms of Child Labor with respect to countries eligible 
for the aforementioned programs. The 2010 report and additional 
background information are available on the Internet at http://www.dol.gov/ILAB/programs/ocft/tda.htm.
    Information Requested and Invitation To Comment: Interested parties 
are invited to comment and provide information regarding DOL's 2010 TDA 
Report; the 2011 TVPRA list; and the current E.O. 13126 List, all of 
which may be found on the Internet at http://www.dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/research.htm or obtained from OCFT. DOL requests comments or 
information to update the findings and suggestions for government 
action for countries reviewed in the TDA report, as well as to assess 
each country's individual progress towards eliminating the worst forms 
of child labor during the current reporting period compared to previous 
years. In addition, DOL especially appreciates information on the 
nature and extent of child labor, forced labor, and forced or 
indentured child labor in the production of goods in foreign countries 
as well as information on government, industry, or third-party actions 
to address these issues for countries reviewed for the E.O. and TVPRA 
lists. Materials submitted should be confined to the specific topics of 
these reports. DOL will generally consider sources with dates up to 
five years old (i.e., data not older than January 1, 2006). DOL 
appreciates the extent to which submissions clearly indicate the time 
period to which they apply. In the interest of transparency, classified 
information will not be accepted. Where applicable, information 
submitted should indicate its source or sources, and copies of the 
source material should be provided. If primary sources are utilized, 
such as research studies, interviews, direct observations, or other 
sources of quantitative or qualitative data, details on the research or 
data-gathering methodology should be provided. Please see the 2010 TDA 
Report, TVPRA List, and E.O. List for a complete explanation of 
relevant terms, definitions, and reporting guidelines employed by DOL, 
or refer to ILAB's previous Request for Information published in the 
Federal Register on April 25, 2011 (76 FR 22921).
    This notice is a general solicitation of comments from the public.

    Signed at Washington, DC, this 9th day of February 2012.
Sandra Polaski,
Deputy Undersecretary for International Labor Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2012-3592 Filed 2-15-12; 8:45 am]
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