Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Forced or Indentured Child Labor in the Production of Goods in Foreign Countries and Efforts by Certain Foreign Countries To Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor, 50411-50413 [2018-21559]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 194 (Friday, October 5, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50411-50413]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-21559]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

[Docket Number DOL-2018-0006]


Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Forced or Indentured Child Labor 
in the Production of Goods in Foreign Countries and Efforts by Certain 
Foreign 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 
three reports issued by the Bureau of International Labor Affairs 
(ILAB) regarding child labor and forced labor in certain foreign 
countries. Relevant information submitted by the public will be used by 
the Department of Labor (DOL) in preparing its ongoing reporting as 
required under Congressional mandates and a Presidential directive. The 
2017 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor report (TDA report), 
published on September 20, 2018, discusses efforts of 132 countries and 
territories to eliminate the worst forms of child labor over the course 
of 2017 and assesses whether countries made significant, moderate, 
minimal, or no advancement during that year. It also suggests actions 
foreign countries can take to eliminate the worst forms of child labor 
through legislation, enforcement, coordination, policies, and social 
programs. The 2018 edition of the List of Goods Produced by Child Labor 
or Forced Labor (TVPRA List), also published on September 20, 2018, 
makes available to the public a list of goods from countries that ILAB 
has reason to believe are produced by child labor or forced labor in 
violation of international standards. Finally, the List of Products 
Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor (E.O. 13126 List), 
provides a list of products, identified by country of origin, that DOL, 
in consultation and cooperation with the Departments of State (DOS) and 
Homeland Security (DHS), has a reasonable basis to believe might have 
been mined, produced, or manufactured with forced or indentured child 
labor. Relevant information submitted by the public will be used by DOL 
in preparing the next edition of the TDA report, to be published in 
2019; the next edition of the TVPRA List, to be published in 2020; and 
for possible updates to the E.O. 13126 List as needed.

DATES: Submitters of information are requested to provide their 
submission to DOL's Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human 
Trafficking (OCFT) at the email or physical address below by 5 p.m. on 
January 11, 2019.

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-
0006,'' 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

[[Page 50412]]

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 (1 
copy): Rachel Rigby and Chanda Uluca, U.S. Department of Labor, OCFT, 
Bureau of International Labor Affairs, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Room 
S-5315, Washington, DC 20210.
    4. Email: Email submissions should be addressed to both Rachel 
Rigby ([email protected]) and Chanda Uluca (Uluca.Ch[email protected]).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rachel Rigby and Chanda Uluca. Please 
see contact information above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    I. The Trade and Development Act of 2000 (TDA), Public Law 106-200 
(2000), established eligibility criterion for receipt of trade benefits 
under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). The TDA amended 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.''
    The TDA Conference Report clarifies this mandate, indicating that 
the President consider the following when considering whether a country 
is complying with its obligations to eliminate the worst forms of child 
labor: ``(1) Whether the country has adequate laws and regulations 
proscribing the worst forms of child labor; (2) whether the country has 
adequate laws and regulations for the implementation and enforcement of 
such measures; (3) whether the country has established formal 
institutional mechanisms to investigate and address complaints relating 
to allegations of the worst forms of child labor; (4) whether social 
programs exist in the country to prevent the engagement of children in 
the worst forms of child labor, and to assist with the removal of 
children engaged in the worst forms of child labor; (5) whether the 
country has a comprehensive policy for the elimination of the worst 
forms of child labor; and (6) whether the country is making continual 
progress toward eliminating the worst forms of child labor.''
    DOL fulfills this reporting mandate 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 GSP. To access the 2017 
TDA report and Frequently Asked Questions, please visit https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/resources/reports/child-labor/findings/.
    II. Section 105(b) of the Trafficking Victims Protection 
Reauthorization Act of 2005 (``TVPRA of 2005''), Public Law 109-164 
(2006), 22 U.S.C. 7112(b), directed the Secretary of Labor, acting 
through ILAB, to ``develop and make available to the public a list of 
goods from countries that ILAB has reason to believe are produced by 
forced labor or child labor in violation of international standards'' 
(TVPRA List).
    Pursuant to this mandate, on December 27, 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 
TVPRA List after its initial publication.
    ILAB published its first TVPRA List on September 30, 2009, and 
issued updates in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, and 2018. (In 
2014, ILAB began publishing the TVPRA List every other year, pursuant 
to changes in the law. See 22 U.S.C. 7112(b).) ILAB can also publish 
more frequent updates, at its discretion. For a copy of previous 
editions of the TVPRA List, Frequently Asked Questions, and other 
materials relating to the TVPRA List, see ILAB's TVPRA web page at 
https://www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods/.
    III. 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.'' The E.O. 13126 List is intended to 
ensure that U.S. federal agencies do not procure goods made by forced 
or indentured child labor. Under procurement regulations, federal 
contractors who supply products on the E.O. 13126 List must certify 
that they have made a good faith effort to determine whether forced or 
indentured child labor was used to produce the items supplied. 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. 13126 List''), identified by country of 
origin, that the Department, in consultation and cooperation with the 
Departments of State (DOS) and Treasury [relevant responsibilities are 
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 E.O. 
13126 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 E.O. 13126 List (66 FR 5351).
    Pursuant to Sections D through G of the Procedural Guidelines, the 
E.O. 13126 List may be updated through consideration of submissions by 
individuals or through OCFT's own initiative.
    DOL has officially revised the E.O. 13126 List four times, most 
recently on December 1, 2014, each time after public notice and comment 
as well as consultation with DOS and DHS.
    The current E.O. 13126 List, Procedural Guidelines, and related 
information can be accessed on the internet at https://www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-products/index-country.htm.
    Information Requested and Invitation to Comment: Interested parties 
are invited to comment and provide information regarding these reports. 
DOL requests comments on or information relevant to updating the 
findings and suggested government actions for countries reviewed in the 
TDA report, assessing each country's individual advancement toward 
eliminating the worst forms of child labor during the current reporting 
period compared to previous years, and maintaining and updating the 
TVPRA and E.O. Lists. For more information on the types of issues 
covered in the TDA report, please see Appendix III of the report. 
Materials submitted should be confined to the specific topics of the 
TDA report, the TVPRA List, and the E.O. 13126 List. DOL will generally 
consider sources with dates up to five years old (i.e., data not older 
than January 1, 2014). DOL appreciates the extent to which submissions 
clearly indicate the time period to which they apply. In the interest 
of transparency in our reporting, 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

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observations, or other sources of quantitative or qualitative data, 
details on the research or data-gathering methodology should be 
provided. Please see the TDA report, TVPRA List, and the E.O. 13126 
List for a complete explanation of relevant terms, definitions, and 
reporting guidelines employed by DOL. Per our standard procedures, 
submissions will be published on the ILAB web page at https://www.dol.gov/ilab/submissions/.
    This notice is a general solicitation of comments from the public.

    Authority: 22 U.S.C. 7112(b)(2)(C) and 19 U.S.C. 2464.

Martha E. Newton,
Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2018-21559 Filed 10-4-18; 8:45 am]
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