[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 15 (Monday, January 24, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3567-3570]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-01444]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

[Docket No. DHS-2022-0001]


Notice Seeking Public Comments on Methods To Prevent the 
Importation of Goods Mined, Produced, or Manufactured With Forced Labor 
in the People's Republic of China, Especially in the Xinjiang Uyghur 
Autonomous Region, Into the United States

AGENCY: Department of Homeland Security.

ACTION: Request for public comments.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, on behalf of the 
Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force (FLETF), is seeking comments from 
the public, as required by the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, on 
how best to ensure that goods, wares, articles, and merchandise mined, 
produced, or manufactured wholly or in part with forced labor in the 
People's Republic of China are not imported into the United States. 
Such goods, wares, articles and merchandise include those mined, 
produced, or manufactured wholly or in part with forced labor by 
Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Tibetans, and members of other persecuted 
groups in the People's Republic of China, and especially in the 
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. After receiving comments, the FLETF 
will conduct a public hearing and develop a strategy for supporting 
enforcement of section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 10, 2022 at 11:59 
p.m. EST.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this notice, identified by Docket 
No. DHS-2022-0001, through the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal at https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the website instructions for submitting 
comments.

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    Comments submitted in a manner other than those discussed in this 
Notice will not be considered by the Forced Labor Enforcement Task 
Force (FLETF). Please note that the FLETF cannot accept any comments 
that are hand-delivered or couriered. In addition, the FLETF cannot 
accept comments contained on any form of digital media storage devices, 
such as CDs/DVDs and USB drives. The FLETF is also not accepting mailed 
comments at this time. If you cannot submit your comment by using 
https://www.regulations.gov, please contact DHS Trade Policy at 
[email protected] or 202-938-6365 for alternate 
instructions.
    For additional instructions regarding submitting comments, see 
section I of this notice, ``Submission Instructions for Public 
Comments.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cynthia Echeverria, Acting Director of 
Trade Policy, U.S. Department of Homeland Security at 202-938-6365 or 
at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Submission Instructions for Public Comments

    The FLETF invites all interested parties to provide written data, 
views, and comments on all aspects of this notice.
    Instructions: If you submit a comment, you must include the task 
force name (the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force) and DHS Docket No. 
DHS-2022-001. All comments or materials submitted in the manner 
described above will be posted, without change, to the Federal 
eRulemaking portal at https://www.regulations.gov and will include any 
personal information you provide. You may wish to consider limiting the 
amount of personal information that you provide in any voluntary public 
comment submission to the FLETF. DHS may withhold from public view 
information provided in comments that it determines may impact the 
privacy of an individual or is offensive. For additional information, 
please read the Privacy Notice available at https://www.regulations.gov/privacy-notice.
    Confidential Business Information Submissions: To submit a public 
comment that includes confidential business information, you must 
follow these instructions. If you do not follow these instructions, 
your comment may be posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov. For purposes of this notice, confidential business 
information is protected information which includes business 
confidential information, trade secrets, or commercial or financial 
information that is confidential or privileged; information that, if 
disclosed, would invade another individual's personal privacy; and 
other Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) exemption-qualifying 
information.
    To submit any confidential business information to the FLETF, 
please submit your comment, with the confidential business information 
included, by email to [email protected]. Please include 
a heading or cover note that states ``THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS 
CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION.'' Please clearly identify the 
portions of the emailed comment which constitute protected information. 
The FLETF will review the claimed confidential business information in 
its consideration of comments.
    If you submit a confidential business information submission by 
email, please also submit a public version of the comment with 
identified confidential information removed. The FLETF will place the 
public version of the comment in the docket at https://www.regulations.gov. Public comments with confidential information 
submitted only by email, and not in conjunction with a public 
submission via https://www.regulations.gov may not be reviewed by the 
FLETF.
    Docket: For access to the docket to view comments, go to https://www.regulations.gov/and search for DHS Docket No. DHS-2022-0001. You 
may also sign up for email alerts on the online docket to be notified 
when comments are posted.

II. Background

A. The Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force

    Pursuant to section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 
U.S.C. 1307), ``[a]ll goods, wares, articles, and merchandise mined, 
produced, or manufactured wholly or in part in any foreign country by 
convict labor or/and forced labor or/and indentured labor under penal 
sanctions shall not be entitled to entry at any of the ports of the 
United States, and the importation thereof is hereby prohibited.'' 
Under this section, the term ``forced labor'' includes ``all work or 
service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any 
penalty for its nonperformance and for which the worker does not offer 
himself voluntarily'' and includes forced or indentured child labor.
    Section 741 of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement 
Implementation Act established the FLETF to monitor United States 
enforcement of the prohibition under section 307 of the Tariff Act of 
1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1307). See 19 U.S.C. 4681. Pursuant to DHS 
Delegation Order No. 23034, the DHS Under Secretary for Strategy, 
Policy, and Plans serves as Chair of the FLETF, an interagency task 
force that includes the Department of Homeland Security, the Office of 
the U.S. Trade Representative, and the Departments of Labor, State, 
Justice, the Treasury and Commerce.\1\ See 19 U.S.C. 4681; Executive 
Order 13923 (May 15, 2020). The Chair may invite other federal 
departments or agencies to participate as members or observers. See 
Executive Order 13923 (May 15, 2020).
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    \1\ The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, as the FLETF 
Chair, has the authority to invite representatives from other 
executive departments and agencies, as appropriate. See Executive 
Order 13923 (May 15, 2020). The U.S. Department of Commerce is a 
member of the FLETF as invited by the Chair.
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    The FLETF must meet quarterly to discuss active Withhold Release 
Orders, ongoing investigations, petitions received, enforcement 
priorities, and other relevant issues with respect to enforcing the 
prohibition under section 307. See 19 U.S.C. 4681(b). The FLETF must 
also submit biannual reports to appropriate congressional committees. 
See 19 U.S.C. 4683. These reports must include DHS enforcement 
priorities for and activities taken pursuant to section 307; the number 
of times merchandise was denied entry pursuant to the prohibition 
within the preceding 180 days and a description of the merchandise 
denied entry; an enforcement plan regarding goods described under 
recent Department of Labor (DOL) reports on international child labor 
and forced labor; and any other information the FLETF considers 
relevant with respect to monitoring and enforcing compliance under 
section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended. See 19 U.S.C. 4683.

B. Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act: Preventing Goods Made With 
Forced Labor From the People's Republic of China From Being Imported 
Into the United States

    The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (Pub. L. 117-78) (``UFLPA'') 
requires, among other things, that the FLETF, in consultation with the 
Secretary of Commerce and the Director of National Intelligence, 
develop a strategy for supporting enforcement of

[[Page 3569]]

section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1307), to 
prevent the importation into the United States of goods, wares, 
articles and merchandise mined, produced or manufactured wholly or in 
part by forced labor in the People's Republic of China, and especially 
in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. In developing and presenting 
this strategy, the UFLPA requires that the FLETF:
     Publish this notice in the Federal Register to solicit 
public comments, for not less than 45 days, on how best to ensure that 
goods, wares, articles and merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured 
wholly or in part with forced labor in the People's Republic of China, 
including by Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Tibetans, and members of other 
persecuted groups in the People's Republic of China, and especially in 
the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, are not imported into the United 
States. See Public Law 117-78, Sec.  2(a);
     Not later than 45 days after the close of the comment 
period, conduct a public hearing inviting witnesses to testify with 
respect to the use of forced labor in the People's Republic of China 
and potential measures to prevent the importation into the United 
States of goods, wares, articles and merchandise mined, produced, or 
manufactured wholly or in part with forced labor in the People's 
Republic of China. See Public Law 117-78, 2(b); and
     Not later than 180 days after the enactment of the UFLPA, 
in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce and the Director of 
National Intelligence, submit to the appropriate congressional 
committees an initial report that includes the strategy for supporting 
enforcement of section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, to 
prevent the importation into the United States of goods, wares, 
articles and merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in 
part with forced labor in the People's Republic of China. Updates to 
the strategy shall be submitted to the appropriate congressional 
committees on an annual basis. See Public Law 117-78, Sec. Sec.  2(c), 
(e).

III. Request for Public Comments

A. Importance of Public Comments

    Public comments will be vital to robust implementation of the 
UFLPA. Comments from all relevant stakeholders are encouraged to ensure 
that the FLETF accounts for a diverse and wide range of perspectives in 
developing a strategy to prevent the importation of goods, wares, 
articles and merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in 
part with forced labor in the People's Republic of China.
    Comments should be detailed and provide sufficient information to 
understand and assess concerns related to the risk of importing goods, 
wares, articles and merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured from 
specific regions, sectors, facilities, and entities in the People's 
Republic of China. Proposed approaches and measures to implement the 
UFLPA should be as detailed as practicable.

B. List of Questions for Commenters

    To assist in the development of comments, members of the public may 
consider the following non-exhaustive list of questions. This list is 
not intended to restrict the issues that commenters may address.
    1. What are the risks of importing goods, wares, articles and 
merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part with 
forced labor in the People's Republic of China, including from the 
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region or made by Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, 
Tibetans, or members of other persecuted groups in any other part of 
the People's Republic of China?
    2. To the extent feasible, as part of the assessment of risks, what 
mechanisms, including the potential involvement in supply chains of 
entities that may use forced labor, could lead to the importation into 
the United States from the People's Republic of China, including 
through third countries, of goods, wares, articles and merchandise 
mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part with forced labor?
    3. What procedures can be implemented or improved to reduce the 
threats identified in Question 2?
    4. What forms does the use of forced labor take in the People's 
Republic of China and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region? For 
example, what ``pairing assistance'' and ``poverty alleviation'' or 
other government labor schemes exist in the People's Republic of China 
that include the forced labor of Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Tibetans, or 
members of other persecuted groups outside of the Xinjiang Uyghur 
Autonomous Region? What similar programs exist in which work or 
services are extracted from Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Tibetans, or 
members of other persecuted groups under the threat of penalty or for 
which they have not offered themselves voluntarily?
    5. What goods are mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in 
part with forced labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region or by 
entities that work with the government of the Xinjiang Uyghur 
Autonomous Region to recruit, transport, transfer, harbor, or receive 
forced labor?
    6. In addition to cotton, tomatoes, and polysilicon, are there any 
other sectors which should be high-priority for enforcement?
    7. What unique characteristics of such high-priority sector supply 
chains, including cotton, tomato, and/or the polysilicon supply chains, 
need to be considered in developing measures to prevent the importation 
of goods mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part with forced 
labor in the People's Republic of China?
    8. How can the United States identify additional entities that 
export products that are mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in 
part with forced labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region or by 
entities that work with the government of the Xinjiang Uyghur 
Autonomous Region to recruit, transport, transfer, harbor, or receive 
forced labor?
    9. How can the United States most effectively enforce the UFLPA 
against entities whose goods, wares, articles, or merchandise are made 
wholly or in part with forced labor in the People's Republic of China 
and imported into the United States?
    10. What efforts, initiatives, and tools and technologies should be 
adopted to ensure that U.S. Customs and Border Protection can 
accurately identify and trace goods entered at any U.S. ports in 
violation of section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended?
    11. What due diligence, effective supply chain tracing, and supply 
chain management measures can importers leverage to ensure that they do 
not import any goods mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part 
with forced labor from the People's Republic of China, especially from 
the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region?
    12. What type, nature, and extent of evidence can companies provide 
to reasonably demonstrate that goods originating in the People's 
Republic of China were not mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or 
in part with forced labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region?
    13. What tools could provide greater clarity to companies on how to 
ensure upcoming importations from the People's Republic of China were 
not mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part with forced 
labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region? To what extent is there 
a need for a common set of supply chain traceability and verification 
standards, through a widely endorsed protocol,

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and what current government or private sector infrastructure exists to 
support such a protocol?
    14. What type, nature, and extent of evidence can demonstrate that 
goods originating in the People's Republic of China, including goods 
detained or seized pursuant to section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930, 
as amended, were not mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part 
with forced labor?
    15. What measures can be taken to trace the origin of goods, offer 
greater supply chain transparency, and identify third-country supply 
chain routes for goods mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in 
part with forced labor in the People's Republic of China?
    16. How can the U.S. Government coordinate and collaborate on an 
ongoing basis with appropriate nongovernmental organizations and 
private sector entities to implement and update the strategy that the 
FLETF will produce pursuant to the UFLPA?
    17. How can the U.S. Government improve coordination with 
nongovernmental organizations and the private sector to combat forced 
labor in supply chains, and how can these serve as a model to support 
implementation of the UFLPA?
    18. Is there any additional information the FLETF should consider 
related to how best to implement the UFLPA, including other measures 
for ensuring that goods mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in 
part with forced labor do not enter the United States?

Robert Silvers,
Under Secretary, Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans.
[FR Doc. 2022-01444 Filed 1-20-22; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 9110-9M-P