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, 70473-70474 [2012-28515]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 227 (Monday, November 26, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70473-70474]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-28515]


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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) 
September 26, 2012, 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. In addition, ILAB will use 
relevant information to conduct assessments of each country's 
individual advancement toward eliminating the worst forms of child 
labor during the current reporting period compared to previous years.

DATES: Submitters of information are requested to provide their 
submission to the Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor and Human 
Trafficking (OCFT) at the email or physical address below by 5 p.m. 
January 15, 2013.
    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-2012-0006,'' may be submitted 
by any of the following methods:
    Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://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 (1 
copy): Karrie Peterson at U.S. Department of Labor, OCFT, Bureau of 
International Labor Affairs, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Room S-5317, 
Washington, DC 20210.
    Email: Email submissions should be addressed to Karrie Peterson at 
peterson.karrie.m@dol.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karrie Peterson (see contact 
information above).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Section 105(b)(1) of the Trafficking 
Victims

[[Page 70474]]

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'' (TVPRA List).
    Pursuant to this mandate, in December 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 
List after its initial publication.
    ILAB published its first TVPRA List on September 30, 2009, and has 
issued updates in 2010, 2011, and 2012. This List is updated 
periodically as additional countries and territories are researched and 
new information for countries and territories already reviewed is 
evaluated. For a copy of the 2012 TVPRA report, Frequently Asked 
Questions, and other materials relating to the TVPRA List, see ILAB's 
TVPRA Web page at: https://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 
(``E.O. 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 EO List (66 FR 5351).
    Pursuant to Sections D through G of the Procedural Guidelines, the 
EO List may be updated through consideration of submissions by 
individuals or through OCFT's own initiative.
    DOL has officially revised the EO List three times, on July 20, 
2010, May 31, 2011, and April 3, 2012, each time after public notice 
and comment as well as consultation with DOS and DHS. In addition, DOL 
published an initial determination on September 27, 2012 proposing 
another revision to the EO List and requesting public comment (76 FR 
61384).
    The current EO List, Procedural Guidelines, and related information 
can be accessed on the Internet at https://www.dol.gov/ILAB/regs/eo13126/main.htm.
    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 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.'' 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, as amended and 
expanded by the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act, 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 2011 report and additional 
background information are available on the Internet at https://www.dol.gov/ILAB/programs/ocft/tda.htm.
    Information Requested and Invitation to Comment: Interested parties 
are invited to comment and provide information regarding DOL's 2011 TDA 
Report; the 2012 TVPRA List; and the current E.O. 13126 List, all of 
which may be found on the Internet at https://www.dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/research.htm or obtained from OCFT. DOL requests comments or 
information to update the findings and suggestions for government 
action for countries reviewed in the TDA Report, as well as to assess 
each country's individual advancement toward eliminating the worst 
forms of child labor during the current reporting period compared to 
previous years. For more information on the types of issues covered in 
the TDA Report, please see Appendix II of the report. In addition, DOL 
especially appreciates 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 as well as information on 
government, industry, or third-party actions to address these issues 
for countries reviewed for the E.O. and TVPRA lists. 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, 2007). 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 2011 TDA Report, 2012 TVPRA List, 
and E.O. 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 February 16, 2012 (77 FR 9267).
    This notice is a general solicitation of comments from the public.

    Signed at Washington, DC, this 15th day of November 2012.
Carol Pier,
Acting Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2012-28515 Filed 11-23-12; 8:45 am]
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