[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 172 (Thursday, September 5, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72428-72430]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-18767]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR


Notice of Final Determination To Remove Shrimp From Thailand and 
Garments From Vietnam 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, 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.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This final determination revises 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) as published in the January 18, 2001 Federal 
Register (66 FR 5351). On May 10, 2024, DOL, in consultation and 
cooperation with DOS and DHS, published a Notice of Initial 
Determination in the Federal Register proposing to remove shrimp from 
Thailand and garments from Vietnam from the E.O. List (89 FR 40509). 
The initial determination stated the Departments had preliminarily 
determined that the use of forced or indentured child labor in the 
production of those products had been significantly reduced and invited 
public comments until June 10, 2024, on whether these products should 
be removed from the E.O. List.
    The initial determination, and the public comments submitted, can 
be viewed at Docket ID No. DOL-2024-0003 or requested from Ryan Olden 
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) 693-48467, 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.
    During the public comment period, DOL received one comment, which 
was submitted by the National Fisheries Institute (NSI). The comment 
made reference back to a previous comment NSI had submitted on a past 
notice (USTR-2023-0003), published by the Office of the United States 
Trade Representative (USTR). DOL, however, was unable to locate the 
referenced comment, and thus could not consider it as part of its final 
determination whether to remove shrimp from Thailand and/or garments 
from Vietnam from the E.O. 13126 List. DOL located a separate comment 
from the NSI on another USTR notification (USTR-2022-0006), which 
outlines the NSI's recommendations related to a proposed USTR forced 
labor strategy. However,

[[Page 72429]]

DOL ultimately determined that the comment was not responsive to the 
Notice of Initial Determination, as it did not contain relevant 
information specific to forced child labor in the production of either 
shrimp from Thailand or garments from Vietnam.
    Following the closure of the comment period on June 10, 2024, the 
Departments concluded that based on available information, there is no 
longer a reasonable basis to believe that forced or indentured child 
labor is used in the production of the following products, identified 
by their countries of origin:

Product: Shrimp
Country: Thailand

    DOL has received recent, credible, and corroborated information 
from various sources on shrimp production in Thailand. This information 
indicates that while children previously worked under forced labor 
conditions in the production of shrimp, the use of forced child labor 
appears to have been significantly reduced. Therefore, the Departments 
have concluded that there is no longer a reasonable basis to believe 
that shrimp from Thailand is produced by forced or indentured child 
labor, except in a few isolated instances, and therefore it should not 
remain on the E.O. List.
    DOL placed shrimp from Thailand on the E.O. List in 2009, and to 
date, the listing cites 11 sources dating from 2006 to 2015. Sources 
indicated that children in Thailand--primarily migrant children--were 
peeling shrimp in small, unregulated ``shrimp sheds.'' In more than 
isolated incidents, these migrant children were engaged in forced child 
labor. Following international attention and action on labor 
exploitation in Thailand's seafood industry, the Royal Thai Government 
(RTG) and other stakeholders made a series of concerted significant 
efforts to address child labor and forced child labor throughout the 
seafood industry, including in the shrimp peeling sector.
    The RTG acceded to the ILO's Maritime Labor Convention and the 
ILO's Work in Fishing Convention and passed the Ministerial Regulation 
Prohibiting Children in Seafood Processing. The RTG also enacted the 
Royal Ordinance on Fisheries, which enhanced traceability systems of 
aquatic resources in Thailand, inclusive of shrimp processing, and 
strengthened migrant worker recruitment regulations through revisions 
in the Labor Protection Act of 1998 and the Royal Ordinance on Foreign 
Worker Management (No. 2). Additionally, the RTG collaborated with 
international nongovernmental organizations to implement projects 
focused on eliminating forced child labor and child labor in the 
seafood processing sector, including the Combatting Unacceptable Forms 
of Work in the Thai Fishing and Seafood Industry program funded by the 
ILO and the European Union; the FAIR Fish program funded by DOL; and 
the Ship to Shore project funded by the EU. Private sector entities 
also acted against forced child labor by formalizing their supply 
chains, eliminating nearly all unregulated ``shrimp sheds'' in which 
child labor and forced child labor were previously documented. In 2023, 
Thai government officials, an industry trade group, workers' 
associations, international organizations, and nongovernmental 
organizations reported that incidents of forced child labor in shrimp 
processing had been reduced to no more than isolated cases. DOL's 
review of available information corroborated that forced child labor in 
the production of shrimp had been significantly reduced to isolated 
incidents.

Product: Garments
Country: Vietnam

    DOL has also received recent, credible, and corroborated 
information from various sources on garment production in Vietnam. This 
information indicates that while children previously worked under 
forced labor conditions in the production of garments, the use of 
forced child labor appears to have been significantly reduced. 
Therefore, the Departments have concluded that there is no longer a 
reasonable basis to believe that garments from Vietnam are produced by 
forced or indentured child labor, except in a few isolated instances, 
and therefore it should not continue to be on the E.O. List.
    DOL placed garments from Vietnam on the E.O. List in 2012, and to 
date, the listing cites 18 sources dating from 2008 to 2015. Sources 
indicated that children in Vietnam--primarily children from rural 
areas--were being trafficked from their homes to Ho Chi Minh City, 
where they were coerced to work, and often live, in garment factories. 
Reports indicated that children working in the sector were underpaid, 
forced to work long hours, and in many cases were found living in the 
workshops. Between 2010 and 2014 there were between 20 and 64 children 
trafficked for these purposes each year, after which the number of 
child trafficking cases dropped rapidly. Reporting that exposed this 
trafficking pipeline was led by data from Blue Dragon Children's 
Foundation (BDCF)--a local NGO which functions as a key partner to the 
Vietnamese police. According to the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi and its 
contacts, all forced child labor cases in Vietnamese garment factories 
go through BDCF for intervention, removal of children from the 
trafficking situations, and victim services.
    Research indicates that following reports of forced child labor in 
the sector, the police worked quickly and effectively to identify both 
victims and perpetrators of this trafficking pipeline. The police shut 
down all responsible criminal enterprises. According to a 2021 BDCF 
report, BDCF rescue operations for victims of trafficking have not 
uncovered a child in sweatshop labor since 2017.
    Since the addition of garments to the E.O. List in 2012, Vietnam 
has made efforts in its legal framework, partnerships, and enforcement 
efforts to eradicate and prevent forced child labor in this sector. 
Vietnam enacted a Labor Code in 2012 prohibiting unlawful, underage, 
and/or forced labor of children, and included regulations on the 
employment of minors including working hours, working times of day, and 
types of work allowed for minors. Vietnam specifically prohibited 
minors from operating fabric and yarn-starching machines as well as 
dyeing and dry-cleaning fabric and yarn, criminalized child 
trafficking, and affirmed the right of children to be protected from 
labor exploitation. Additionally, Vietnam has conducted two national 
programs on the reduction of child labor and has conducted a national 
survey on child labor. The government continues to work with Blue 
Dragon, as well as other INGOs and NGOs like the ILO, Fair Wear 
Foundation, and Better Work. Vietnam actively collaborates with 
stakeholders on programs like ENHANCE, which aims to build governmental 
capacity to address and prevent child labor; and Fear Wear's 
programming which brings together key stakeholders to enhance the 
rights of garment workers. Reports also indicate that grievance 
mechanisms exist and are accessible for garment workers.
    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 ``all work or service (1) exacted from 
any person

[[Page 72430]]

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, 
the Department of Labor 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 (whose relevant 
responsibilities are now within the Department of Homeland Security), 
had a reasonable basis to believe might have been mined, produced, or 
manufactured with forced or indentured child labor (66 FR 5353). This 
list included 11 goods produced in 12 countries. DOL 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 
(66 FR 5351).
    The Procedural Guidelines provide that the E.O. List may be revised 
through consideration of submissions by individuals and on the three 
Departments' own initiative. When proposing a revision to the E.O. 
List, DOL must publish in the Federal Register a notice of initial 
determination, 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.
    On January 18, 2001, pursuant to Section 3 of E.O. 13126, the 
Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council published a final rule to 
implement specific provisions of E.O. 13126 that require, among other 
things, that Federal contractors who supply products that appear on the 
list certify to the contracting officer that the contractor, or, in the 
case of an incorporated contractor, a responsible official of the 
contractor, has 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 forced or 
indentured child labor (48 CFR subpart 22.15).
    On September 11, 2009, the Department of Labor published an initial 
determination in the Federal Register proposing to revise the E.O. List 
to include 29 products from 21 countries. The Notice requested public 
comments for a period of 90 days. Public comments were received and 
reviewed by all relevant agencies and a final determination was issued 
on July 20, 2010. Following the same process, the E.O. List was revised 
again in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2019, and 2022. The most recent E.O. 
List, with this published notice, includes 33 products from 25 
countries.
    The current E.O. List and the Procedural Guidelines can be accessed 
at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/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.
Thea Mei Lee,
Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2024-18767 Filed 9-4-24; 8:45 am]
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