[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 79 (Monday, April 25, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22921-22922]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-9934]
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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
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
reports issued by the Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) on
December 15, 2010, regarding child labor and forced labor in foreign
countries. Relevant information will be used by the Department of Labor
(DOL) in preparation of its ongoing reporting under Congressional
mandates and Presidential directive.
DATES: Submitters of information are requested to provide their
submission to the Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor and Human
Trafficking (OCFT) at the e-mail or physical address below by 5 p.m.,
May 20, 2011.
To Submit Information: Information submitted to DOL should be
submitted directly to OCFT, Bureau of International Labor Affairs, U.S.
Department of Labor at (202) 693-4843 (this is not a toll free number).
Comments, identified as ``Docket No. DOL-2011-0002,'' 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 (2 copies): Tina McCarter at U.S. Department of Labor, OCFT,
Bureau of International Labor Affairs, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW.,
Room S-5317, Washington, DC 20210.
E-mail: E-mail submissions should be addressed to Tina
McCarter at [email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tina McCarter (see contact information
above).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Section 105(b)(1) of the Trafficking
Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005 (``TVPRA of 2005''),
Public Law 109-164 (2006), directed the Secretary of Labor, acting
through ILAB, to ``develop and make available to the public a list of
goods from countries that the Bureau of International Labor Affairs has
reason to believe are produced by forced labor or child labor in
violation of international standards.''
Pursuant to this mandate, in December 2007 DOL published in the
Federal Register a set of procedural guidelines that ILAB follows in
developing the list of goods (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.
On September 10, 2009, ILAB released its initial list of goods from
countries (TVPRA list). This list will be updated periodically, as
additional countries and territories are researched and new information
for countries and territories already reviewed is evaluated. The first
update to the list was published December 15, 2010. For a copy of the
2010 TVPRA report, Frequently Asked Questions, and other materials
relating to the TVPRA list, see ILAB's TVPRA Web page at: http://
[[Page 22922]]
www.dol.gov/ILAB/programs/ocft/tvpra.htm.
II. 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
(the ``List''), identified by country of origin, that the Department,
in consultation and cooperation with the Departments of State (DOS) and
Treasury [relevant responsibilities 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 List (66 FR 5351). Based
on DOL research and information submitted by the public, DOL issued an
initial determination on September 11, 2009, announcing proposed
updates to the E.O. 13126 list and requesting public comments. Public
comments were received and reviewed by all relevant agencies, and a
final determination was issued on July 20, 2010, that included all
products proposed in the initial determination except for carpets from
India (75 FR 42164). Further DOL research was conducted in 2010 and a
new initial determination was published December 16, 2010, proposing to
remove one good from the current list (charcoal from Brazil) and add
another (textiles from Ethiopia). The current E.O. 13126 List,
Procedural Guidelines, and related information can be accessed on the
Internet at http://www.dol.gov/ILAB/regs/eo13126/main.htm. Pursuant to
Sections D through G of the Procedural Guidelines, the EO 13126 List
may be updated through consideration of submissions by individuals or
through OCFT's own initiative.
III. The Trade and Development Act of 2000 (TDA), Public Law 106-
200 (2002), established a new eligibility criterion for receipt of
trade benefits under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP),
Caribbean Basin Trade and Partnership Act (CBTPA), and Africa Growth
and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The TDA amends the GSP reporting
requirements of Section 504 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.'' Title II of the TDA and the TDA Conference
Report, Joint Explanatory Statement of the Committee of Conference,
106th Cong.2d.Sess. (2000), indicate that the same criterion applies
for the receipt of benefits under CBTPA and AGOA, respectively.
In addition, the Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA), as amended and
expanded by the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act
(ATPDEA), Public Law 107-210, Title XXXI (2002), includes as a
criterion for receiving benefits ``[w]hether the country has
implemented its commitments to eliminate the worst forms of child labor
as defined in section 507(6) of the Trade Act of 1974.'' DOL fulfills
these reporting mandates 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 the aforementioned programs. The 2010
report and additional background information are available on the
Internet at http://www.dol.gov/ILAB/programs/ocft/tda.htm.
Information Requested and Invitation to Comment: Interested parties
are requested to consider DOL's 2009 Findings on the Worst Forms of
Child Labor (TDA report); the 2010 List of Goods Produced by Child
Labor or Forced Labor (TVPRA list); and the current Executive Order
13126 List of Products Requiring Federal Contractor Certification as to
Forced or Indentured Child Labor (E.O. 13126 list), all of which may be
found on the Internet at http://www.dol.gov/ilab/highlights/if-20101215.htm or obtained from OCFT. DOL requests comments on or
information to update the findings and suggestions for government
action for countries reviewed in the TDA report; information on the
nature and extent of child labor, forced labor, and forced or
indentured child labor in the production of goods in foreign countries;
and information on government, industry, or third-party actions and
initiatives to address these issues.
Materials submitted should be confined to the specific topics of
these reports. DOL will generally consider sources with dates up to
five years old (i.e., data not older than January 1, 2005). DOL
appreciates the extent to which submissions clearly indicate the time
period to which they apply. In the interest of transparency, 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 2010 TDA
report, TVPRA List, and E.O. 13126 List for a complete explanation of
relevant terms, definitions, and reporting guidelines employed by DOL,
or refer to ILAB's previous Request for Information published in the
Federal Register on Feb. 24, 2010 (75 FR 8402).
This notice is a general solicitation of comments from the public.
Signed at Washington, DC, this 20th day of April, 2011.
Sandra Polaski,
Deputy Undersecretary for International Labor Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2011-9934 Filed 4-22-11; 8:45 am]
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