[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 194 (Monday, October 7, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53474-53475]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-21610]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
[Agency Docket Number DOL-2019-0005]
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 preparing its ongoing reporting as
required under Congressional mandates and a Presidential directive. The
2018 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor report (TDA Report),
published on September 27, 2019, discusses efforts of 131 countries and
territories to eliminate the worst forms of child labor over the course
of 2018 and assesses whether countries made significant, moderate,
minimal, or no advancement during that year to address the worst forms
of child labor. 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 2018
edition of the List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor
(TVPRA List), published on September 20, 2018, 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 (E.O. 13126 List), 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), has a reasonable basis to believe might have been
mined, produced, or manufactured with forced or indentured child labor.
Relevant information submitted by the public will be used by DOL in
preparing the next edition of the TDA Report, to be published in 2020;
the next edition of the TVPRA List, to be published in 2020; and
possible updates to the E.O. 13126 List as needed.
DATES: Submitters of information are requested to provide their
submission to DOL's Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human
Trafficking (OCFT) at the email or physical address below by 5 p.m. on
January 13, 2020.
ADDRESSES: Information submitted to the Department of Labor should be
submitted directly to OCFT, Bureau of International Labor Affairs, U.S.
Department of Labor. Comments, identified as ``Docket No. DOL-2019-
0005,'' may be submitted by any of the following methods:
1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: You may submit electronic comments
to: http://www.regulations.gov. The portal includes instructions for
submitting comments. Parties submitting responses electronically are
encouraged not to submit paper copies.
2. Facsimile (fax): OCFT, at 202-693-4830.
3. Mail, Express Delivery, Hand Delivery, and Messenger Service (1
copy): Austin Pedersen and Chanda Uluca, 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 Austin
Pedersen ([email protected]) and Chanda Uluca
([email protected]).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Austin Pedersen, 202-693-4867 and
Chanda Uluca, 202-693-4905. Please see email contact information above.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. The Trade and Development Act of 2000 (TDA), Public Law 106-200
(2000), established eligibility criteria 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.'' (H. Conf.
Rept. 106-606, May 4, 2000, p. 124).
DOL fulfills this reporting mandate through annual publication of
the U.S. Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of Child
Labor report with respect to countries eligible for GSP. To access the
2018 TDA Report, 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), as amended by Section 133 of the Frederick
Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization
Act of 2018, Public Law 115-425, directs 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,
including, to the extent practicable, goods that are produced with
inputs that are produced with forced labor or child labor.'' (TVPRA
List).
Pursuant to its mandate under the TVPRA of 2005, 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 TVPRA List after its initial publication.
[[Page 53475]]
ILAB published its first TVPRA List on September 30, 2009, and
issued updates annually from 2010 through 2013. In 2014, ILAB began
publishing the TVPRA List every other year, pursuant to changes in the
law (see 22 U.S.C. 7112(b)). ILAB can also publish more frequent
updates, at its discretion. For a copy of previous editions of the
TVPRA List and other related materials, see ILAB's TVPRA web page at
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/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.'' The E.O. 13126 List is intended to
ensure that U.S. federal agencies do not procure goods made by forced
or indentured child labor. Under procurement regulations, federal
contractors who supply products on the E.O. 13126 List must certify
that they have made a good faith effort to determine whether forced or
indentured child labor was used to produce the items supplied. Pursuant
to E.O. 13126, and following public notice and comment, DOL published
in the January 18, 2001, Federal Register, a final list of products
(``E.O. 13126 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 E.O. 13126
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 E.O. 13126 List (66 FR 5351).
Pursuant to Sections D through G of the Procedural Guidelines, the
E.O. 13126 List may be updated through consideration of submissions by
individuals or through ILAB's own initiative.
DOL has officially revised the E.O. 13126 List seven times, most
recently on March 25, 2019, each time after public notice and comment
as well as consultation with DOS and DHS.
The current E.O. 13126 List, Procedural Guidelines, and related
information can be accessed on the internet at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-products.
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 updating the
findings and suggested government actions for countries reviewed in the
TDA Report, assessing each country's individual advancement toward
eliminating the worst forms of child labor during the current reporting
period compared to previous years, and maintaining and updating the
TVPRA and E.O. Lists, including information on goods produced with
inputs that are produced with forced labor or child labor. For more
information on the types of issues covered in the TDA Report, please
see ``TDA Guidance Questions'' in the appendix of the report. Materials
submitted should be confined to the specific topics of the TDA Report,
the TVPRA List, and the E.O. 13126 List. DOL will generally consider
sources with dates up to five years old (i.e., data not older than
January 1, 2015). DOL appreciates the extent to which 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 TDA Report, TVPRA List, and the E.O.
13126 List 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/agencies/ilab/public-submissions-child-labor-forced-labor-reporting.
This notice is a general solicitation of comments from the public.
Authority: 22 U.S.C. 7112(b)(2)(C) and 19 U.S.C. 2464.
Signed at Washington, DC, this 30th day of September, 2019.
Martha E. Newton,
Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2019-21610 Filed 10-4-19; 8:45 am]
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