[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 207 (Friday, October 27, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49855-49857]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-23319]
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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
Foreign 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
three reports issued by the Bureau of International Labor Affairs
(ILAB) regarding child labor and forced labor in certain foreign
countries. Relevant information submitted by the public will be used by
the Department of Labor (DOL) in preparation of its ongoing reporting
under Congressional mandates and Presidential directive. The 2016
Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor report (TDA report),
published on September 20, 2017, assesses efforts by 138 countries to
reduce the worst forms of child labor over the course of 2016 and
reports whether countries made significant, moderate, minimal, or no
advancement during that year. It also suggests actions foreign
countries can take to eliminate the worst forms of child labor through
legislation, enforcement, coordination, policies, and social programs.
The 2016 edition of the List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced
Labor (TVPRA List), published on September 30, 2016, makes available to
the public a list of goods from countries that ILAB has reason to
believe are produced by child labor or forced labor in violation of
international standards. Finally, the List of Products Produced by
Forced or Indentured Child Labor (EO List), most recently published on
December 1, 2014, provides a list of products, identified by country of
origin, that DOL, in consultation and cooperation with the Departments
of State (DOS) and Homeland Security (DHS), have a reasonable basis to
believe might have been mined, produced or manufactured
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with forced or indentured child labor. Relevant information submitted
by the public will be used by DOL in preparation of the next edition of
the TDA report and TVPRA List, to be published in 2018, and for
possible updates to the EO List as needed.
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.
January 12, 2018.
To Submit Information: Information should be submitted directly to
OCFT, Bureau of International Labor Affairs, U.S. Department of Labor.
Comments, identified as ``Docket No. DOL-2017-0002'', 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 (1
copy): Alexa Gunter at U.S. Department of Labor, OCFT, Bureau of
International Labor Affairs, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Room S-5315,
Washington, DC 20210.
Email: Email submissions should be addressed to both Alexa Gunter
([email protected]) and the TVPRA List Mailbox ([email protected]).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alexa Gunter, (202) 693-4829. Please
see contact information above.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. The Trade and Development Act of 2000 (TDA), Public Law 106-200
(2000), established eligibility criterion for receipt of trade benefits
under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). The TDA amended 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.''
The TDA Conference Report clarifies this mandate, indicating that
the President consider the following when considering whether a country
is complying with its obligations to eliminate the worst forms of child
labor: (1) Whether the country has adequate laws and regulations
proscribing the worst forms of child labor; (2) whether the country has
adequate laws and regulations for the implementation and enforcement of
such measures; (3) whether the country has established formal
institutional mechanisms to investigate and address complaints relating
to allegations of the worst forms of child labor; (4) whether social
programs exist in the country to prevent the engagement of children in
the worst forms of child labor, and to assist with the removal of
children engaged in the worst forms of child labor; (5) whether the
country has a comprehensive policy for the elimination of the worst
forms of child labor; and (6) whether the country is making continual
progress toward eliminating the worst forms of child labor.''
DOL fulfills this reporting mandate 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 GSP. To access the 2016
TDA report and Frequently Asked Questions, please visit https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/resources/reports/child-labor/findings/.
II. Section 105(b) of the Trafficking Victims Protection
Reauthorization Act of 2005 (``TVPRA of 2005''), Public Law 109-164
(2006), 22 U.S.C. 7112(b), directed the Secretary of Labor, acting
through ILAB, to ``develop and make available to the public a list of
goods from countries that ILAB has reason to believe are produced by
forced labor or child labor in violation of international standards''
(TVPRA List).
Pursuant to this mandate, on December 27, 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 published its first TVPRA List on September 30, 2009, and
issued updates in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2016. (In 2014,
ILAB began publishing the TVPRA List every other year, pursuant to
changes in the law. See 22 U.S.C. 7112(b).) The next TVPRA List will be
published in 2018. For a copy of previous editions of the TVPRA List,
Frequently Asked Questions, and other materials relating to the TVPRA
List, see ILAB's TVPRA Web page at http://www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods/.
III. 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
(``EO List''), identified by country of origin, that the Department, in
consultation and cooperation with the Departments of State (DOS) and
Treasury [relevant responsibilities are 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 four times, most recently on
December 1, 2014, each time after public notice and comment as well as
consultation with DOS and DHS.
The current EO List, Procedural Guidelines, and related information
can be accessed on the Internet at http://www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-products/index-country.htm.
Information Requested and Invitation to Comment: Interested parties
are invited to comment and provide information regarding these reports.
DOL requests comments on or information relevant to maintaining and
updating the TVPRA and EO Lists, updating the findings and suggested
government actions for countries reviewed in the TDA report, and
assessing each country's individual advancement toward eliminating the
worst forms of child labor during the current reporting period compared
to previous years. For more information on the types of issues covered
in the TDA report, please see Appendix III of the report. Materials
submitted should be confined to the specific topics of the TVPRA List,
EO List, and TDA report. DOL will generally consider sources with dates
up to five years old (i.e., data not older than January 1, 2013). DOL
appreciates the extent to which
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submissions clearly indicate the time period to which they apply. In
the interest of transparency in our reporting, 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 TVPRA List, EO
List, and TDA report for a complete explanation of relevant terms,
definitions, and reporting guidelines employed by DOL. Per our standard
procedures, submissions will be published on the ILAB Web page at
https://www.dol.gov/ilab/submissions/.
This notice is a general solicitation of comments from the public.
Signed at Washington, DC, this 19 day of October 2017.
Martha Newton,
Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2017-23319 Filed 10-26-17; 8:45 am]
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