Notice of Initial 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, 40509-40511 [2024-10249]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 92 (Friday, May 10, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40509-40511]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-10249]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

[Agency Docket Number DOL-2023-0003]


Notice of Initial 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: The Bureau of International Labor Affairs, Department of Labor.

ACTION: Notice of initial determination; request for comments.

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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). 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. Federal contracting officers must check the 
E.O. List when issuing a solicitation for supplies expected to exceed 
the micro-purchase threshold and take certain steps if the solicited 
product appears on the list. This notice proposes to remove shrimp from 
Thailand and garments from Vietnam because the three Departments have 
preliminarily determined that the use of forced or indentured child 
labor in the production of these products 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) via one of the methods 
described below and must be received by no later than 5 p.m. ET, June 
10, 2024, 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-2004-
0003,'' may be submitted by any of the following methods:
    Federal eRulemaking Portal: 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): Ryan Olden at U.S. Department of Labor, ILAB/Office of Child 
Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking, 200 Constitution Ave. NW, 
Room S-5317, Washington, DC 20210.
    Email: Email submissions should be addressed to Ryan Olden. Email: 
[email protected].
    Digital Accessability: The United States Department of Labor (DOL) 
is required to ensure that all its digital information is accessible to 
people with disabilities, including those who use assistive technology 
such as screen readers. Therefore, DOL requests that your submissions 
through the portal be as accessible as possible. If you are able to 
conform to the current Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), 
then please do so. Otherwise, DOL requests that submissions be made in 
a Microsoft Word document, using the built-in Styles for document 
formatting, including descriptive Alt Text on embedded images and 
graphics, and using the built-in Word Accessibility Checker for 
additional accessibility improvements. Although permissible, please 
avoid submitting scanned images, screen shots, or PDFs whenever 
possible.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ryan Olden. Phone: (202) 693-4867. 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: DOL is requesting public comment on the 
revisions to the E.O. 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 materials 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 
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 E.O. 
List. 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 products, identified by 
their countries of origin:

Product: Shrimp
Country: Thailand

    DOL has received recent, credible, and corroborated information 
from various sources on the use of forced or indentured child labor in 
shrimp production in Thailand. This information indicates that while

[[Page 40510]]

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 three Departments have 
preliminarily 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 continue to be 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 the use of forced or indentured 
child labor in 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 three 
Departments have preliminarily 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 
children 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, 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.
    DOL invites public comment on whether these products (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, 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 or remove products as warranted by the receipt of 
new and credible information.

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 under the age

[[Page 40511]]

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 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 (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, finalized on July 13, 2022, includes 34 products from 26 
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. 2024-10249 Filed 5-9-24; 8:45 am]
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