[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 57 (Monday, March 25, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11123-11126]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-05360]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
[DOL-2018-0004]
Notice of Final Determination To Remove Uzbek Cotton From 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, U.S. Department of
Labor.
ACTION: Notice of final determination.
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SUMMARY: This notice is a final determination to revise the list
required by Executive Order No. 13126 (``Prohibition of Acquisition of
Products Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor'', hereafter the
E.O. List). The E.O. List identifies a list of products, by their
country of origin, that the Department of Labor (DOL), in consultation
and cooperation with the Department of State (DOS) and the Department
of Homeland Security (DHS) (collectively, the Departments), has a
reasonable basis to believe might have been mined, produced, or
manufactured by forced or indentured child labor.
The Departments proposed removing cotton from Uzbekistan from the
E.O. List in a Notice of Initial Determination that was published in
the Federal Register on July 31, 2018. After a thorough review of the
comments received and information available, the Departments have
determined that the use of forced child labor in the cotton harvest in
Uzbekistan has been significantly reduced to isolated incidents. As a
result, this product no longer meets the criteria for inclusion in the
E.O. List.
This final determination is the fifth revision of the E.O. List
required by E.O. 13126 in accordance with DOL's Procedural Guidelines
for the Maintenance of the List of Products Requiring Federal
Contractor Certification as to Forced or Indentured Child Labor
(Procedural Guidelines).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Initial Determination
On July 31, 2018, DOL, in consultation and cooperation with DOS and
DHS, published a Notice of Initial
[[Page 11124]]
Determination in the Federal Register proposing to remove cotton from
Uzbekistan from the E.O. List.\1\ The initial determination stated the
Departments had preliminarily determined that the use of forced or
indentured child labor in the production of that product had been
significantly reduced and invited public comments until August 30, 2018
on whether cotton from Uzbekistan should be removed from the E.O. List,
as well as any other issues related to the fair and effective
implementation of E.O. 13126. The initial determination, and the public
comments submitted, can be viewed at Docket ID No. DOL-2018-0004 or
requested from Austin Pedersen at: 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, email:
[email protected]. Individuals with hearing or speech
impairments may access the telephone number above via TTY by calling
the Federal Information Relay Service at 1-877-889-5627.
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\1\ 83 FR 36969.
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II. Public Comment Period
During the public comment period, six comments were submitted. Two
comments were letters: One from the Cotton Campaign on behalf of 36
members of the Cotton Campaign coalition, opposing the initial
determination, and one from the Government of Uzbekistan, supporting
the initial determination. Two comments were summaries of DOL meetings:
The first with the International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF, a lead
organization of the Cotton Campaign coalition) and the second with the
Ambassador of Uzbekistan to the United States, both of which occurred
during the comment period. Finally, two comments were electronic
messages related to those meetings. All comments are available for
public viewing at http://www.regulations.gov (reference Docket ID No.
DOL-2018-0004).
In its letter,\2\ the Cotton Campaign indicated its opposition to
the removal of cotton from Uzbekistan from the E.O List. The letter
stated that there were incidents during the 2017 cotton harvest of
forced child labor in the Karakalpakstan region and of child labor in
the Andijan region, and that some cotton pickers had been coached to
tell observers they worked voluntarily. It stated that there was no
conclusive evidence that forced child labor had ended. Additionally, it
asserted that, due to pressure stemming from the government's quota
system, parents sometimes brought their children to cotton fields to
pick cotton, and it pointed to evidence that children in a few schools
were required to bring cotton to school in order for the school to meet
the cotton quota imposed on it. It further stated that the government's
investigations and prosecutions of officials who violated laws against
forced child labor were sporadic.
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\2\ Cotton Campaign. Letter. August 29, 2018. https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=DOL-2018-0004-0004.
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In their meeting with DOL on August 9, 2018,\3\ the ILRF
representatives encouraged DOL not to issue a final determination until
after the 2018 cotton harvest season and pointed to instances of forced
child labor in Uzbekistan in 2017 as indicated in an Uzbek-German Forum
report.\4\ The ILRF representatives also discussed the Cotton
Campaign's forthcoming report on the spring weeding season.\5\
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\3\ DOL. Record of Contact with Outside Party--ILRF. August 9,
2018. https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=DOL-2018-0004-0002.
\4\ Uzbek-German Forum for Human Rights. ``We Pick Cotton Out of
Fear'': Systematic Forced Labor and the Accountability Gap in
Uzbekistan. May 19, 2018. http://uzbekgermanforum.org/we-pick-cotton-out-of-fear-systematic-forced-labor-and-the-accountability-gap-in-uzbekistan/.
\5\ Uzbek-German Forum for Human Rights. ``We want farmers to
have full freedom'': No Need for Forced Labor when Farmers are
Empowered to Pay Decent Wages: Spring Cotton Fieldwork 2018.
September 10, 2018. http://uzbekgermanforum.org/we-want-farmers-to-have-full-freedom-no-need-for-forced-labor-when-farmers-are-empowered-to-pay-decent-wages-spring-cotton-fieldwork-2018/.
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Email messages exchanged by DOL officials and the ILRF \6\ were
sent to schedule the aforementioned meeting and inform the ILRF of the
comment period.
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\6\ DOL. Record of Contact with Outside Party--Email
Correspondence with ILRF. Sent between July 31 and August 10, 2018.
https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=DOL-2018-0004-0006.
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In its letter,\7\ the Government of Uzbekistan supported the
initial determination. The government discussed the country's legal
framework prohibiting forced labor and its work with human rights
organizations, activists monitoring the 2017 cotton harvest, and the
World Bank Third Party Monitoring system implemented by the
International Labor Organization (ILO). The Government of Uzbekistan
also cited its efforts to investigate child labor and forced labor
complaints and to punish violators. It noted the creation of a
Parliamentary Commission on Labor Rights and explained the Commission's
responsibility to work with state and local authorities to ensure
compliance with international labor standards and national law. It
further noted the accomplishments of its Decent Work Country Program
agreement with the ILO and the extension of that agreement to 2020. The
Government of Uzbekistan's submission also detailed its ongoing efforts
to improve working conditions in the cotton sector, including through
raising pickers' payment rates and piloting structural reforms of the
industry to improve productivity and encourage private competition.
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\7\ Government of Uzbekistan. Aide-Memoire on Measures to
Eradicate Child and Forced Labor. August 2018. https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=DOL-2018-0004-0003.
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During a meeting with DOL officials on August 10, 2018,\8\ the
Ambassador of Uzbekistan discussed his government's goals of reducing
forced labor in all cotton fields. In addition, the Ambassador noted
efforts to improve transparency of the cotton harvest to international
civil society organizations.
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\8\ DOL. Record of Contact with Outside Party--Ambassador of
Uzbekistan. August 10, 2018. https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=DOL-2018-0004-0005.
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The email from the Embassy of Uzbekistan \9\ thanked DOL officials
for the meeting.
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\9\ Record of Contact with Outside Party--Email Correspondence
with Uzbek Ambassador. Sent August 13, 2018. https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=DOL-2018-0004-0007.
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III. Analysis of Comments Submitted
Following the close of the public comment period on August 30,
2018, the Departments have carefully reviewed and considered all public
comments received.\10\ In so doing, the Departments considered and
weighed the factors identified in the Procedural Guidelines: The source
of the information presented, the date of the
[[Page 11125]]
information, the extent of corroboration of the information, whether
the information involved more than an isolated incident, and whether
recent and credible efforts are being made to address forced or
indentured child labor in the country and industry.\11\
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\10\ The Departments also note available reporting on the 2018
cotton harvest season. See, e.g., Cotton Campaign. Forced Labor in
Uzbekistan's Cotton Fields Was Present in 2018 Harvest. December 14,
2018. https://laborrights.org/releases/forced-labor-uzbekistan%E2%80%99s-cotton-fields-was-present-2018-harvest.
Grove, Thomas. ``Uzbekistan Says It Is Working to End Forced
Labor in Cotton Fields.'' Wall Street Journal. December 17, 2018.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/uzbekistan-picks-away-at-forced-labor-in-its-cotton-fields-11545042600.
Guilbert, Kieran. ``Campaigners challenge U.N. over forced labor
in Uzbekistan's cotton industry.'' Reuters. November 23, 2018.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-uzbekistan-labour-workers/campaigners-challenge-un-over-forced-labor-in-uzbekistans-cotton-industry-idUSKCN1NS1S6.
Uzbek-German Forum for Human Rights. Despite Commitment and
Efforts, Systematic Forced Labor in Uzbekistan's Cotton Fields was
Present During the 2018 Harvest. December 14, 2018. http://uzbekgermanforum.org/despite-commitment-and-efforts-systematic-forced-labor-in-uzbekistan-s-cotton-fields-was-present-during-the-2018-harvest/.
\11\ 66 FR 5351, at 5352. (Jan. 18, 2001). https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2001/01/18/01-952/bureau-of-international-labor-affairs-procedural-guidelines-for-the-maintenance-of-the-list-of.
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The reports cited in the Cotton Campaign's letter document no more
than five cases of forced child labor, including cases in which,
according to sources cited in the letter, children were required to
pick cotton and bring it to school in order for it to meet the cotton
quota. In one of these cases, a local inspector imposed fines on the
school director for requiring students to bring cotton.\12\ The
submission does not indicate whether the government took actions to
remedy the other cases. However, based on other information that DOL
collected, as a general matter, the government made improvements in
investigating and remedying such cases.\13\ For example, during a
research trip to Uzbekistan in the spring of 2018, DOL found that,
unlike previous years, upon receiving allegations of child labor from
independent activists, the government made efforts to investigate and
remediate such cases, and that at least three individuals were
convicted \14\ and 14 local officials were subjected to administrative
penalties.\15\
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\12\ Uzbek-German Forum for Human Rights. ``We Pick Cotton Out
of Fear'': Systematic Forced Labor and the Accountability Gap in
Uzbekistan. May 19, 2018. http://uzbekgermanforum.org/we-pick-cotton-out-of-fear-systematic-forced-labor-and-the-accountability-gap-in-uzbekistan/.
\13\ Ibid. Kozyreva, Anna. ``The Fields of Hopelessness:
Uzbekistan's Children Remain as Hostages in the Battle for the
Cotton Crop,'' Fergana News. November 14, 2017. On File.
\14\ U.S. Embassy--Tashkent. Reporting. January 9, 2018.
\15\ International Labor Organization. Third-Party Monitoring of
Measures Against Child Labor and Forced Labor During the 2017 Cotton
Harvest in Uzbekistan. February 1, 2018. http://www.ilo.org/ipec/
Informationresources/WCMS_543130/lang_en/index.htm.
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The Cotton Campaign letter also refers to other cases of child
labor, rather than forced child labor. However, these cases highlight
that the government has made improvements in investigating and
remedying such cases. ILO monitoring in 2017 identified 12 children
ages 10 to 14 engaged in child labor in one field in Karakalpakstan. In
this case, according to the ILO, the district hokim (governor) and
other community members took the situation seriously and immediately
removed the children from the field. The local mahalla (community
association) leader, the local Ministry of Education representative,
the district prosecutor, and the hokim all participated in the
investigation of the issue. ILO monitors concluded that the case was an
isolated incident based on the fact that the farmer, the children's
parents, the mahalla leader, and a representative of the local
Department of Education all appeared unaware of the children's presence
in the fields.\16\ Separately, the Uzbek government-led Coordination
Council on Decent Work's national monitoring effort, without specifying
the location, identified 18 children in the cotton fields, four of whom
were picking cotton.\17\ The Government of Uzbekistan issued
administrative penalties when investigations identified violations of
labor laws.\18\ These two cases were not considered directly relevant
to E.O. List, since they were cases of child labor, rather than forced
child labor.
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\16\ International Labor Organization. Third-Party Monitoring of
Measures Against Child Labor and Forced Labor During the 2017 Cotton
Harvest in Uzbekistan. February 1, 2018. http://www.ilo.org/ipec/
Informationresources/WCMS_543130/lang_en/index.htm.
\17\ U.S. Embassy--Tashkent. Reporting. January 9, 2018.
\18\ Ibid.
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With respect to the evidence submitted by the Cotton Campaign
regarding the ability to freely conduct monitoring in the sector, DOL
notes that there are three monitoring mechanisms active during the
cotton harvest, as well as other mechanisms in place to receive
complaints.\19\ The existence of such mechanisms, and their increased
use each year, points to the opportunity that workers have to be candid
about the terms and conditions of their work, including forced child
labor.
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\19\ Department of Labor. ``Uzbekistan'' in Findings on the
Worst Forms of Child Labor. September 2018. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/resources/reports/child-labor/uzbekistan.
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The first of these mechanisms is monitoring by the Coordination
Council.\20\ The second is monitoring conducted by independent human
rights activists; for example, the Uzbek-German Forum for Human Rights,
a Berlin-based NGO, releases reports on the harvest based on these
activists' monitoring.\21\ Third, the ILO, in collaboration with the
Federation of Trade Unions of Uzbekistan, conducts Third-Party
Monitoring of the cotton harvest.\22\ This mechanism was established in
2015 through an agreement between the World Bank and the ILO; it is
funded by a Bank-managed multi-donor trust fund to monitor labor issues
under World Bank development projects for agriculture, water, and
education in Uzbekistan.\23\
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\20\ Government of Uzbekistan. Response to FRN. On File.
\21\ Uzbek-German Forum for Human Rights. Cotton Harvest 2017:
Summary of Key Findings. March 2018. On File.
\22\ International Labor Organization. Third-Party Monitoring of
Measures Against Child Labor and Forced Labor During the 2017 Cotton
Harvest in Uzbekistan. February 1, 2018. http://www.ilo.org/ipec/
Informationresources/WCMS_543130/lang_en/index.htm.
\23\ International Labor Organization. Third-Party Monitoring of
Measures Against Child Labor and Forced Labor During the 2017 Cotton
Harvest in Uzbekistan. February 1, 2018. http://www.ilo.org/ipec/
Informationresources/WCMS_543130/lang_en/index.htm.
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DOL also notes the existence of multiple, active feedback
mechanisms for worker complaints. Uzbekistan's Ministry of Employment
and Labor Relations operates a hotline \24\ and the Federation of Trade
Unions operates legal clinics in each province to process labor
complaints.\25\ Two World Bank projects have their own specific
feedback mechanisms for participant concerns.\26\ In addition, the
President of Uzbekistan in 2017 established a general hotline for
members of the public to raise issues with the Uzbek government.\27\
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\24\ U.S. Embassy--Tashkent. Reporting. January 9, 2018.
\25\ International Labor Organization. Third-Party Monitoring of
Measures Against Child Labor and Forced Labor During the 2017 Cotton
Harvest in Uzbekistan. February 1, 2018. http://www.ilo.org/ipec/
Informationresources/WCMS_543130/lang_en/index.htm.
\26\ Ibid.
\27\ U.S. Embassy--Tashkent. Reporting. January 9, 2018.
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Portions of the comments submitted in response to the initial
determination were not directly related to the use of forced child
labor in the cotton harvest in Uzbekistan, but do point to the
continued existence of adult forced labor in the sector. For instance,
the Cotton Campaign referred to the quota system for the cotton harvest
in Uzbekistan and, in a meeting with DOL, ILRF stated that the forced
labor of adults continues to be prevalent. These comments cited
incidents of school officials denying pupils the right to attend class
if their parents did not pick cotton or pay for a replacement. The
government's letter pointed to various efforts it had made to, in part,
combat the forced labor of adults in the cotton sector, such as the
mechanization of the cotton harvest, diversification of agricultural
crops, increasing cotton pickers' wages by 40 percent or more,
increasing the price of cotton so that farmers could hire voluntary
workers, and government directives to strictly prosecute violators.
[[Page 11126]]
IV. Final Determination
The Departments have carefully reviewed, analyzed, and considered
the comments submitted in determining whether to remove cotton from
Uzbekistan from the E.O. List. In addition, the Departments have
continued to monitor the cotton harvest since the issuance of the
Initial Determination, and will continue to monitor future cotton
harvests in the course of maintaining the E.O. List. The Departments
conclude that based on available information, the use of forced child
labor in the cotton harvest in Uzbekistan has been significantly
reduced to isolated incidents and, as a result, this product no longer
meets the criteria for inclusion in the E.O. List.
In 2010, when DOL added cotton from Uzbekistan to the E.O. List,
forced child labor was pervasive in Uzbekistan's cotton sector. The
Environmental Justice Foundation reported that tens of thousands of
children were forced to pick cotton in the annual harvest, including an
estimated 200,000 children in the Ferghana valley. School children were
coerced into participation in the harvest with threats of physical and
verbal abuse, threats of expulsion, and threats that their grades would
suffer if they did not meet assigned quotas.\28\ The Human Rights
Report noted that between 2 and 19 percent of children participated in
the cotton harvest, based on statistics available in 2006. While most
child pickers were reportedly older than 15, children as young as 11
were also forced to work in the harvest. Living conditions for cotton
pickers, including children, were reportedly poor, and children were
exposed to harmful chemicals and pesticides in the fields.\29\ DOS
confirmed that children were mobilized by their schools as a result of
national cotton production quotas, also noting that many schools closed
for a full month during the harvest while children picked cotton.\30\
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\28\ Environmental Justice Foundation. Child Labor and Cotton in
Uzbekistan. http://www.ejfoundation.org/page145.html and White Gold:
The True Cost of Cotton. 2005. http://www.ejfoundation.org/pdf/white_gold_the_true_cost_of_cotton.pdf.
\29\ U.S. Department of State. ``Uzbekistan'' in Country Reports
on Human Rights Practices 2007. March 11, 2008. http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2007/100623.htm.
\30\ U.S. Embassy--Tashkent. Reporting. June 6, 2008.
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In contrast, during the 2017 harvest season, available reporting
documented five cases of forced child labor: (1) A class of children
from a school in the Ulugnor District of the Andijan Region picked
cotton; (2) a class of children from a school in the Balichki District
of the Andijan Region picked cotton, and the head of the school was
later fined for sending the children to pick cotton; (3) one child
stated that he and other students were instructed by school officials
to pick cotton in their spare time in the Balichki District of the
Andijan Region; (4) students of a school in the Balichki District of
the Andijan Region were told to pick cotton in their free time \31\ and
(5) a mahalla leader in the Turtkul District of the Karakalpakstan
Region ordered every house in the area to send someone to pick cotton,
some of whom were children.\32\
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\31\ The information available about this case is limited. It is
possible that this case may overlap with the third one outlined in
this paragraph.
\32\ The Departments note that according to available reporting,
during the 2018 harvest season, limited evidence pointed to isolated
incidents of possible child labor in the cotton harvest. U.S.
Embassy--Tashkent. Reporting. December 21, 2018.
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As a result of the significant reduction in the use of forced child
labor to isolated incidents, the Departments have determined to remove
cotton from Uzbekistan from the E.O. List.
V. Background
E.O. 13126 was signed on June 12, 1999, and published in the
Federal Register on June 16, 1999. 64 FR 32383. E.O. 13126 declared
that it was ``the policy of the United States Government . . . that
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.'' The E.O. defines ``forced or
indentured child labor'' as:
[A]ll work or service (1) exacted from any person under the age of
18 under the menace of any penalty for its nonperformance and for
which the worker does not offer himself voluntarily; or (2)
performed by any person under the age of 18 pursuant to a contract
the enforcement of which can be accomplished by process or
penalties.
Pursuant to E.O. 13126, and following public notice and comment,
DOL published in the January 18, 2001 Federal Register the first E.O.
List of products, along with their respective countries of origin, that
DOL, in consultation and cooperation with the Department of State and
the Department of the Treasury (relevant responsibilities now within
DHS), had a reasonable basis to believe might have been mined, produced
or manufactured by forced or indentured child labor.\33\
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\33\ 66 FR 5353.
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The Department also published the Procedural Guidelines on January
18, 2001, which provide procedures for the maintenance, review, and, as
appropriate, revision of the E.O. List.\34\ The Procedural Guidelines
provide that the E.O. List may be revised through consideration of
submissions by individuals and on the Department's own initiative. When
proposing a revision to the E.O. List, DOL must publish a notice of
initial determination in the Federal Register, which includes any
proposed alteration to the E.O. List. The Departments will consider all
public comments prior to the publication of a final determination of a
revised E.O. List. The E.O. List was subsequently revised on July 20,
2010; \35\ on May 31, 2011; \36\ on April 3, 2012; \37\ and on July 23,
2013.\38\ The most recent E.O. List, finalized on October 3, 2016,
includes 35 products from 26 countries.\39\
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\34\ 66 FR 5351.
\35\ 75 FR 42164.
\36\ 76 FR 31365.
\37\ 77 FR 20051.
\38\ 78 FR 44158.
\39\ 81 FR 68062.
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Under a final rule by the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council,
which also implements E.O. 13126, federal contractors who supply
products that appear on the E.O. 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 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.\40\
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\40\ See Prohibition of Acquisition of Products Produced by
Forced or Indentured Child Labor, 66 FR 5346, 5347 (Jan. 18, 2001)
(codified at 48 CFR 22.1503(c)).
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The current E.O. List and the Procedural Guidelines can be accessed
at http://www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-products/ or can
be obtained from: OCFT, Bureau of International Labor Affairs, Room S-
5313, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington,
DC 20210; telephone: (202) 693-4843; fax (202) 693-4830.
Authority: E.O. 13126, 64 FR 32383.
Signed at Washington, DC, on March 13, 2019.
Martha E. Newton,
Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2019-05360 Filed 3-22-19; 8:45 am]
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