Notice of Initial Determination To Remove Cotton From Uzbekistan From the List of Products Requiring Federal Contractor Certification as to Forced or Indentured Child Labor Pursuant to Executive Order 13126, 36969-36971 [2018-16288]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 147 / Tuesday, July 31, 2018 / Notices registration. Anyone requiring special accommodations should contact Mr. Joy at least seven (7) days in advance of the meeting. Please submit any comments or written statements for consideration by the Review Board in writing at least seven (7) days in advance of the meeting date. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Office of Justice Programs [OJP (OJP) Docket No. 1748] Meeting of the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor Review Board Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), Justice. ACTION: Notice of meeting. AGENCY: This is an announcement of a meeting of the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor Review Board, primarily intended to consider nominations for the 2017–2018 Medal of Valor, and to make a limited number of recommendations for submission to the U.S. Attorney General. Additional issues of importance to the Board may also be discussed. The meeting/ conference call date and time is listed below. DATES: September 10, 2018, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. EDT. ADDRESSES: The public may hear the proceedings of this meeting/conference call at the Office of Justice Programs, 810 7th Street NW, Washington, DC 20531. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gregory Joy, Policy Advisor, Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, 810 7th Street NW, Washington, DC 20531, by telephone at (202) 514–1369, toll free (866) 859– 2687, or by email at Gregory.joy@ usdoj.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor Review Board carries out those advisory functions specified in 42 U.S.C. 15202. Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 15201, the President of the United States is authorized to award the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor, the highest national award for valor by a public safety officer. This meeting/conference call is open to the public at the offices of BJA. For security purposes, members of the public who wish to participate must register at least seven (7) days in advance of the meeting/conference call by contacting Mr. Joy. All interested participants will be required to meet at the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs; 810 7th Street NW, Washington, DC, 20531, and will be required to sign in at the front desk. Note: Photo identification will be required for admission. Additional identification documents may be required. Access to the meeting/conference call will not be allowed without prior SUMMARY: daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES Gregory Joy, Policy Advisor/Designated Federal Officer, Bureau of Justice Assistance. VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:30 Jul 30, 2018 Jkt 244001 [FR Doc. 2018–16328 Filed 7–30–18; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4410–18–P DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Notice of Initial Determination To Remove Cotton From Uzbekistan From the List of Products Requiring Federal Contractor Certification as to Forced or Indentured Child Labor Pursuant to Executive Order 13126 Bureau of International Labor Affairs, Department of Labor. ACTION: Notice of initial determination; request for comments. AGENCY: This initial determination proposes to revise the list required by Executive Order No. 13126 (‘‘Prohibition of Acquisition of Products Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor’’) (E.O. List) in accordance with the Department of Labor’s (DOL) ‘‘Procedural Guidelines for the Maintenance of the List of Products Requiring Federal Contractor Certification as to Forced or Indentured Child Labor’’ (the Procedural Guidelines).1 The E.O. List identifies a list of products, by their country of origin, that DOL, in consultation and cooperation with the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security (hereinafter ‘‘the three Departments’’), has a reasonable basis to believe might have been mined, produced, or manufactured by forced or indentured child labor. This notice proposes to remove cotton from Uzbekistan because the three Departments have preliminarily determined that the use of forced or indentured child labor in the production of that product has been significantly reduced. The Department of Labor invites public comment on this initial determination. The three Departments will consider all public comments prior to publishing a final determination revising the E.O. List. DATES: Comments should be submitted to the Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking (OCFT) SUMMARY: PO 00000 1 66 FR 5351 (Jan. 18, 2001). Frm 00098 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 36969 via one of the methods described below and must be received by no later than 5 p.m. ET, August 30, 2018, to guarantee consideration. 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–2018– 0004,’’ may be submitted by any of the following methods: 1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: You may submit electronic comments to: https://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 (2 copies): Rachel Rigby/Austin Pedersen, U.S. Department of Labor, OCFT, Bureau of International Labor Affairs, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Room S–5313, Washington, DC 20210. 4. Email: Email submissions should be addressed to: EO13126@dol.gov. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Director, Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking, Bureau of International Labor Affairs, U.S. Department of Labor, at (202) 693–4843 (this is not a toll free number). 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. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Information Sought The Department of Labor is requesting public comment on the revisions to the list proposed below, as well as any other issue related to the fair and effective implementation of E.O. 13126. This notice is a general solicitation of comments from the public. All submitted comments will be made a part of the public record and will be available for inspection on https:// www.regulations.gov. In conducting research for this initial determination, the three Departments considered a wide variety of materials based on their own research, and which originates from other U.S. Government agencies, foreign governments, international organizations, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), U.S. Government-funded technical assistance and field research projects, academic and other independent research, media, and other sources. The Department of State and U.S. embassies E:\FR\FM\31JYN1.SGM 31JYN1 daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES 36970 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 147 / Tuesday, July 31, 2018 / Notices and consulates abroad also provided important information by gathering data from contacts, conducting site visits, and reviewing local media sources. In developing the proposed revision to the E.O. List, the three Departments’ review focused on information concerning the use of forced or indentured child labor that was available from the above sources. As outlined in the Procedural Guidelines, several factors were weighed in determining whether a product should be placed, or remain on, the revised E.O. List: The nature of the information describing the use of forced or indentured child labor; the source of the information; the date of the information; the extent of corroboration of the information by appropriate sources; whether the information involved more than an isolated incident; and whether recent and credible efforts are being made to address forced or indentured child labor in a particular country and industry (66 FR 5351). This notice constitutes an initial determination to revise the list issued December 1, 2014. Based on available information from various sources, the three Departments have preliminarily concluded that there is no longer a reasonable basis to believe that there is use of forced or indentured child labor in the production of the following product, identified by its country of origin: Product: Cotton Country: Uzbekistan The Department of Labor has received recent, credible, and corroborated information from various sources on the use of forced or indentured child labor in cotton production in Uzbekistan. This information indicates that while children previously worked under forced labor conditions in cotton production, the use of forced child labor appears to have been significantly reduced. Therefore, the three Departments have preliminarily concluded that there is no longer a reasonable basis to believe that cotton from Uzbekistan is produced by forced or indentured child labor, except in a few isolated instances, and therefore it should not continue to be on the list. DOL placed cotton from Uzbekistan on the List in 2010, based on 14 sources dating from 2002 to 2008. Sources indicated that school administrators, at the direction of central and local governments, systematically mobilized children as young as 7 years old for participation in the annual cotton harvest.2 In 2013, the Government of 2 ‘‘Environmental Justice Foundation. Child Labor and Cotton in Uzbekistan.’’ available from https:// VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:30 Jul 30, 2018 Jkt 244001 Uzbekistan committed to working with the International Labor Organization (ILO) to address forced child labor. Over time, three forms of harvest monitoring were established: ILO-implemented Third Party Monitoring (TPM), Uzbekistan’s own national monitoring led by the Coordination Council, and independent monitoring conducted by human rights activists, many of whom coordinate their reporting through the Uzbek German Forum. In 2017, ILO monitoring, Uzbekistan’s national monitoring, and observation by independent human rights activists each found that forced child labor had been reduced to a few incidents in the cotton harvest, and only 32 additional children were found to be engaged in child labor, though not all in forced labor conditions, in the cotton harvest.3 Both the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent’s observation during the 2017 harvest, as well as DOL’s review of available information, corroborated that forced child labor in the production of cotton had been significantly reduced to isolated incidents.4 Further, the Government of Uzbekistan has taken steps to improve the monitoring environment for independent activists and follow up on all reports of child labor and forced labor in the cotton harvest, including those made by independent activists.5 However, both the ILO and independent monitoring found that at least 300,000 adults were forced to work in the 2017 cotton harvest.6 The Department of Labor invites public comment on whether this product (and/or other products, regardless of whether they are mentioned in this notice) should be included in or removed from the revised E.O. List. To the extent possible, www.ejfoundation.org/page145.html; ‘‘Environmental Justice Foundation. White Gold: The True Cost of Cotton.’’ London, 2005; available from https://www.ejfoundation.org/pdf/white_gold_ the_true_cost_of_cotton.pdf; U.S. Department of State. ‘‘Uzbekistan. ’’ In Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2007, March 11, 2008; available from https://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2007/ 100623.htm; U.S. Embassy Tashkent. reporting. June 6, 2008. 3 ILO. ‘‘Third-Party Monitoring of Measures Against Child Labor and Forced Labor During the 2017 Cotton Harvest in Uzbekistan.’’ February 1, 2018. https://www.ilo.org/ipec/ Informationresources/WCMS_543130/lang-en/ index.htm; Government of Uzbekistan. Response to TDA Questionnaire; January 25, 2017; Uzbek German Forum for Human Rights. Cotton Harvest 2017: Summary of Key Findings. March 2018. On file. 4 U.S. Embassy—Tashkent. Reporting. January 9, 2018; Uzbek German Forum for Human Rights, 2018; ILO, 2018. 5 U.S. Embassy—Tashkent, 2018. 6 ILO, 2018; Uzbek German Forum for Human Rights, 2018. PO 00000 Frm 00099 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 comments provided should address the criteria for inclusion of a product on the E.O. List contained in the Procedural Guidelines discussed above. Following receipt and consideration of comments on the removal from the E.O. List set out above, the three Departments will issue a final determination in the Federal Register. The three Departments intend to continue to revise the E.O. List periodically to add and/or remove products as warranted by the receipt of new and credible information. II. Background E.O. 13126 was signed on June 12, 1999, and published in the Federal Register on June 16, 1999.7 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 exacted from any person 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 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 the Department, in consultation and cooperation with the Departments of State and 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.8 The Department 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.9 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 7 64 FR 32383. FR 5353. 9 66 FR 5351. 8 66 E:\FR\FM\31JYN1.SGM 31JYN1 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 147 / Tuesday, July 31, 2018 / Notices Register a notice of initial determination, which includes any proposed alteration to the E.O. List. The three 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.10 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, and 2014. The most recent E.O. List, finalized on December 1, 2014, includes 35 products from 26 countries. The current E.O. List and the Procedural Guidelines can be accessed at https://www.dol.gov/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. daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES (Authority: E.O. 13126, 64 FR 32383) Signed at Washington, DC, this 24 day of July 2018. Martha E. Newton, Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs. [FR Doc. 2018–16288 Filed 7–30–18; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4510–28–P 10 See 48 CFR subpart 22.15. VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:30 Jul 30, 2018 Jkt 244001 Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington DC 20555–0001; telephone: 301–415–5411; email: Shirley.Rohrer@nrc.gov NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [NRC–2018–0152] Biweekly Notice: Applications and Amendments to Facility Operating Licenses and Combined Licenses Involving No Significant Hazards Considerations Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Biweekly notice. AGENCY: Pursuant to Section 189a.(2) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is publishing this regular biweekly notice. The Act requires the Commission to publish notice of any amendments issued, or proposed to be issued, and grants the Commission the authority to issue and make immediately effective any amendment to an operating license or combined license, as applicable, upon a determination by the Commission that such amendment involves no significant hazards consideration, notwithstanding the pendency before the Commission of a request for a hearing from any person. This biweekly notice includes all notices of amendments issued, or proposed to be issued, from June 30, 2018 to July 16, 2018. The last biweekly notice was published on July 17, 2018. DATES: Comments must be filed by August 30, 2018. A request for a hearing must be filed by October 1, 2018. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods (unless this document describes a different method for submitting comments on a specific subject): • Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC–2018–0152. Address questions about NRC dockets to Jennifer Borges; telephone: 301–287–9127; email: Jennifer.Borges@nrc.gov. For technical questions, contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document. • Mail Comments to: May Ma, Office of Administration, Mail Stop: TWFN–7– A60M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555– 0001. For additional direction on obtaining information and submitting comments, see ‘‘Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments’’ in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shirley Rohrer, Office of Nuclear SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00100 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 36971 SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Notice of Consideration of Issuance of Amendments to Facility Operating Licenses and Combined Licenses and Proposed No Significant Hazards Consideration Determination The Commission has made a proposed determination that the following amendment requests involve no significant hazards consideration. Under the Commission’s regulations in section 50.92 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), this means that operation of the facility in accordance with the proposed amendment would not (1) involve a significant increase in the probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated, or (2) create the possibility of a new or different kind of accident from any accident previously evaluated; or (3) involve a significant reduction in a margin of safety. The basis for this proposed determination for each amendment request is shown below. The Commission is seeking public comments on this proposed determination. Any comments received within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice will be considered in making any final determination. Normally, the Commission will not issue the amendment until the expiration of 60 days after the date of publication of this notice. The Commission may issue the license amendment before expiration of the 60day period provided that its final determination is that the amendment involves no significant hazards consideration. In addition, the Commission may issue the amendment prior to the expiration of the 30-day comment period if circumstances change during the 30-day comment period such that failure to act in a timely way would result, for example in derating or shutdown of the facility. If the Commission takes action prior to the expiration of either the comment period or the notice period, it will publish in the Federal Register a notice of issuance. If the Commission makes a final no significant hazards consideration determination, any hearing will take place after issuance. The Commission expects that the need to take this action will occur very infrequently. E:\FR\FM\31JYN1.SGM 31JYN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 147 (Tuesday, July 31, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36969-36971]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-16288]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR


Notice of Initial Determination To Remove Cotton From Uzbekistan 
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 initial determination; request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This initial determination proposes to revise the list 
required by Executive Order No. 13126 (``Prohibition of Acquisition of 
Products Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor'') (E.O. List) in 
accordance with the Department of Labor's (DOL) ``Procedural Guidelines 
for the Maintenance of the List of Products Requiring Federal 
Contractor Certification as to Forced or Indentured Child Labor'' (the 
Procedural Guidelines).\1\ The E.O. List identifies a list of products, 
by their country of origin, that DOL, in consultation and cooperation 
with the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security 
(hereinafter ``the three Departments''), has a reasonable basis to 
believe might have been mined, produced, or manufactured by forced or 
indentured child labor. This notice proposes to remove cotton from 
Uzbekistan because the three Departments have preliminarily determined 
that the use of forced or indentured child labor in the production of 
that product has been significantly reduced. The Department of Labor 
invites public comment on this initial determination. The three 
Departments will consider all public comments prior to publishing a 
final determination revising the E.O. List.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ 66 FR 5351 (Jan. 18, 2001).

DATES: Comments should be submitted to the Office of Child Labor, 
Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking (OCFT) via one of the methods 
described below and must be received by no later than 5 p.m. ET, August 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
30, 2018, to guarantee consideration.

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-2018-
0004,'' may be submitted by any of the following methods:
    1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: You may submit electronic comments 
to: https://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 (2 
copies): Rachel Rigby/Austin Pedersen, U.S. Department of Labor, OCFT, 
Bureau of International Labor Affairs, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Room 
S-5313, Washington, DC 20210.
    4. Email: Email submissions should be addressed to: 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Director, Office of Child Labor, 
Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking, Bureau of International Labor 
Affairs, U.S. Department of Labor, at (202) 693-4843 (this is not a 
toll free number). 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.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Information Sought

    The Department of Labor is requesting public comment on the 
revisions to the list proposed below, as well as any other issue 
related to the fair and effective implementation of E.O. 13126. This 
notice is a general solicitation of comments from the public. All 
submitted comments will be made a part of the public record and will be 
available for inspection on https://www.regulations.gov.
    In conducting research for this initial determination, the three 
Departments considered a wide variety of materials based on their own 
research, and which originates from other U.S. Government agencies, 
foreign governments, international organizations, non-governmental 
organizations (NGOs), U.S. Government-funded technical assistance and 
field research projects, academic and other independent research, 
media, and other sources. The Department of State and U.S. embassies

[[Page 36970]]

and consulates abroad also provided important information by gathering 
data from contacts, conducting site visits, and reviewing local media 
sources. In developing the proposed revision to the E.O. List, the 
three Departments' review focused on information concerning the use of 
forced or indentured child labor that was available from the above 
sources.
    As outlined in the Procedural Guidelines, several factors were 
weighed in determining whether a product should be placed, or remain 
on, the revised E.O. List: The nature of the information describing the 
use of forced or indentured child labor; the source of the information; 
the date of the information; the extent of corroboration of the 
information by appropriate sources; whether the information involved 
more than an isolated incident; and whether recent and credible efforts 
are being made to address forced or indentured child labor in a 
particular country and industry (66 FR 5351).
    This notice constitutes an initial determination to revise the list 
issued December 1, 2014. Based on available information from various 
sources, the three Departments have preliminarily concluded that there 
is no longer a reasonable basis to believe that there is use of forced 
or indentured child labor in the production of the following product, 
identified by its country of origin:

Product: Cotton
Country: Uzbekistan

    The Department of Labor has received recent, credible, and 
corroborated information from various sources on the use of forced or 
indentured child labor in cotton production in Uzbekistan. This 
information indicates that while children previously worked under 
forced labor conditions in cotton production, the use of forced child 
labor appears to have been significantly reduced. Therefore, the three 
Departments have preliminarily concluded that there is no longer a 
reasonable basis to believe that cotton from Uzbekistan is produced by 
forced or indentured child labor, except in a few isolated instances, 
and therefore it should not continue to be on the list.
    DOL placed cotton from Uzbekistan on the List in 2010, based on 14 
sources dating from 2002 to 2008. Sources indicated that school 
administrators, at the direction of central and local governments, 
systematically mobilized children as young as 7 years old for 
participation in the annual cotton harvest.\2\ In 2013, the Government 
of Uzbekistan committed to working with the International Labor 
Organization (ILO) to address forced child labor. Over time, three 
forms of harvest monitoring were established: ILO-implemented Third 
Party Monitoring (TPM), Uzbekistan's own national monitoring led by the 
Coordination Council, and independent monitoring conducted by human 
rights activists, many of whom coordinate their reporting through the 
Uzbek German Forum. In 2017, ILO monitoring, Uzbekistan's national 
monitoring, and observation by independent human rights activists each 
found that forced child labor had been reduced to a few incidents in 
the cotton harvest, and only 32 additional children were found to be 
engaged in child labor, though not all in forced labor conditions, in 
the cotton harvest.\3\ Both the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent's observation 
during the 2017 harvest, as well as DOL's review of available 
information, corroborated that forced child labor in the production of 
cotton had been significantly reduced to isolated incidents.\4\ 
Further, the Government of Uzbekistan has taken steps to improve the 
monitoring environment for independent activists and follow up on all 
reports of child labor and forced labor in the cotton harvest, 
including those made by independent activists.\5\ However, both the ILO 
and independent monitoring found that at least 300,000 adults were 
forced to work in the 2017 cotton harvest.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ ``Environmental Justice Foundation. Child Labor and Cotton 
in Uzbekistan.'' available from https://www.ejfoundation.org/page145.html; ``Environmental Justice Foundation. White Gold: The 
True Cost of Cotton.'' London, 2005; available from https://www.ejfoundation.org/pdf/white_gold_the_true_cost_of_cotton.pdf; 
U.S. Department of State. ``Uzbekistan. '' In Country Reports on 
Human Rights Practices 2007, March 11, 2008; available from https://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2007/100623.htm; U.S. Embassy 
Tashkent. reporting. June 6, 2008.
    \3\ ILO. ``Third-Party Monitoring of Measures Against Child 
Labor and Forced Labor During the 2017 Cotton Harvest in 
Uzbekistan.'' February 1, 2018. https://www.ilo.org/ipec/Informationresources/WCMS_543130/lang-en/index.htm; Government of 
Uzbekistan. Response to TDA Questionnaire; January 25, 2017; Uzbek 
German Forum for Human Rights. Cotton Harvest 2017: Summary of Key 
Findings. March 2018. On file.
    \4\ U.S. Embassy--Tashkent. Reporting. January 9, 2018; Uzbek 
German Forum for Human Rights, 2018; ILO, 2018.
    \5\ U.S. Embassy--Tashkent, 2018.
    \6\ ILO, 2018; Uzbek German Forum for Human Rights, 2018.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Department of Labor invites public comment on whether this 
product (and/or other products, regardless of whether they are 
mentioned in this notice) should be included in or removed from the 
revised E.O. List. To the extent possible, comments provided should 
address the criteria for inclusion of a product on the E.O. List 
contained in the Procedural Guidelines discussed above.
    Following receipt and consideration of comments on the removal from 
the E.O. List set out above, the three Departments will issue a final 
determination in the Federal Register. The three Departments intend to 
continue to revise the E.O. List periodically to add and/or remove 
products as warranted by the receipt of new and credible information.

II. Background

    E.O. 13126 was signed on June 12, 1999, and published in the 
Federal Register on June 16, 1999.\7\ 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 exacted from any person 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 performed 
by any person under the age of 18 pursuant to a contract the 
enforcement of which can be accomplished by process or penalties.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \7\ 64 FR 32383.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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 the Department, in consultation and 
cooperation with the Departments of State and 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.\8\ The Department 
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.\9\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \8\ 66 FR 5353.
    \9\ 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

[[Page 36971]]

Register a notice of initial determination, which includes any proposed 
alteration to the E.O. List. The three 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.\10\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \10\ See 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, and 2014. The most recent E.O. List, 
finalized on December 1, 2014, includes 35 products from 26 countries.
    The current E.O. List and the Procedural Guidelines can be accessed 
at https://www.dol.gov/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, this 24 day of July 2018.
Martha E. Newton,
Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2018-16288 Filed 7-30-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4510-28-P
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