Notice of Final 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, 72428-72430 [2024-18767]
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 172 / Thursday, September 5, 2024 / Notices
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.
IV: Section 104(b)(2)(D) of The
Trafficking Victims Protection
Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) of 2005
mandates that ILAB ‘‘work with persons
who are involved in the production of
goods on [ILAB’s List of Goods
Produced by Child Labor or Forced
Labor] to create a standard set of
practices that will reduce the likelihood
that such persons will produce goods
using [forced and child labor].’’
Many firms have policies, activities,
and/or systems in place to monitor labor
rights in their supply chains and
remediate violations. Such policies,
activities and systems vary depending
on location, industry, and many other
factors. ILAB seeks to identify practices
that have been effective in specific
contexts, analyze their replicability, and
disseminate those that have potential to
be effective on a broader scale through
Comply Chain.
Information Requested and Invitation
to Comment: In addition to general
comments on the existing publication of
Comply Chain, ILAB is seeking
information on current practices of
firms, business associations, and other
private sector groups to reduce the
likelihood of child labor and forced
labor in the production of goods. ILAB
welcomes any and all input. Examples
of materials could include, but are not
limited to: (1) Codes of conduct; (2) Sets
of standards used for implementation of
codes in specific industries or locations
or among particular labor populations;
(3) Auditing/monitoring systems, or
components of such systems, as well as
related systems for enforcement of labor
standards across a supply chain; (4)
Strategies for monitoring sub-tier
suppliers, informal workplaces,
homework, and other challenging
environments; (5) Training modules and
other mechanisms for communicating
expectations to stakeholders which
incorporate worker input; (6)
Traceability models or experiences; (7)
Remediation strategies for children and/
or adults found in conditions of forced
or child labor; (8) Reporting-related
practices and practices related to
independent review; (9) Projects at the
grassroots level which address
underlying issues or root causes of child
labor or forced labor; (10) and/or any
other relevant practices.
In addition, ILAB is seeking
information on current practices of
governments to collaborate with private
sector actors through public-private
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partnerships to reduce the likelihood of
child labor and forced labor in the
production of goods. Submissions may
include policy documents, reports,
statistics, case studies, and many other
formats. In addition, ILAB welcomes
submissions of reports, analyses,
guidance, toolkits, and other documents
in which such practices have been
compiled or analyzed by third-party
groups. Information should be
submitted to the addresses and within
the time period set forth above. DOL
seeks information that can be used to
inform the development of tools and
resources to be disseminated publicly
on the DOL website and/or in other
publications. However, in disseminating
information, DOL will conceal, to the
extent permitted by law, the identity of
the submitter and/or the individual or
company using the practice in question,
upon request. Internal, confidential
documents that cannot be shared with
the public will not be used.
Submissions containing confidential or
personal information may be redacted
by DOL before being made available to
the public, in accordance with
applicable laws and regulations. DOL
does not commit to responding directly
to submissions or returning submissions
to the submitters, but DOL may
communicate with the submitter
regarding any matters relating to the
submission.
(Authority: 22 U.S.C. 7112(b)(2)(C))
Signed at Washington, DC.
Thea Mei Lee
Deputy Undersecretary for International
Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2024–18770 Filed 9–4–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510–28–P
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Notice of Final 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
Bureau of International Labor
Affairs, Department of Labor.
ACTION: Notice of final determination.
AGENCY:
This notice is a final
determination to revise the list required
by Executive Order No. 13126
(‘‘Prohibition of Acquisition of Products
Produced by Forced or Indentured Child
Labor’’, hereafter the E.O. List). The E.O.
List identifies a list of products, by their
country of origin, that the Department of
Labor (DOL), in consultation and
cooperation with the Department of
SUMMARY:
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State (DOS) and the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) (collectively,
the Departments), has a reasonable basis
to believe might have been mined,
produced, or manufactured by forced or
indentured child labor.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This final
determination revises the E.O. List
required by E.O. 13126 in accordance
with DOL’s Procedural Guidelines for
the Maintenance of the List of Products
Requiring Federal Contractor
Certification as to Forced or Indentured
Child Labor (Procedural Guidelines) as
published in the January 18, 2001
Federal Register (66 FR 5351). On May
10, 2024, DOL, in consultation and
cooperation with DOS and DHS,
published a Notice of Initial
Determination in the Federal Register
proposing to remove shrimp from
Thailand and garments from Vietnam
from the E.O. List (89 FR 40509). The
initial determination stated the
Departments had preliminarily
determined that the use of forced or
indentured child labor in the
production of those products had been
significantly reduced and invited public
comments until June 10, 2024, on
whether these products should be
removed from the E.O. List.
The initial determination, and the
public comments submitted, can be
viewed at Docket ID No. DOL–2024–
0003 or requested from Ryan Olden at:
Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and
Human Trafficking (OCFT), Bureau of
International Labor Affairs, Room S–
5317, U.S. Department of Labor, 200
Constitution Avenue NW, Washington,
DC 20210; telephone: (202) 693–48467,
email: eo13126@dol.gov. 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.
During the public comment period,
DOL received one comment, which was
submitted by the National Fisheries
Institute (NSI). The comment made
reference back to a previous comment
NSI had submitted on a past notice
(USTR–2023–0003), published by the
Office of the United States Trade
Representative (USTR). DOL, however,
was unable to locate the referenced
comment, and thus could not consider
it as part of its final determination
whether to remove shrimp from
Thailand and/or garments from Vietnam
from the E.O. 13126 List. DOL located
a separate comment from the NSI on
another USTR notification (USTR–
2022–0006), which outlines the NSI’s
recommendations related to a proposed
USTR forced labor strategy. However,
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DOL ultimately determined that the
comment was not responsive to the
Notice of Initial Determination, as it did
not contain relevant information
specific to forced child labor in the
production of either shrimp from
Thailand or garments from Vietnam.
Following the closure of the comment
period on June 10, 2024, the
Departments concluded that based on
available information, there is no longer
a reasonable basis to believe that forced
or indentured child labor is used 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 shrimp production
in Thailand. This information indicates
that while 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
Departments have 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 remain 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
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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 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
Departments have 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 child trafficking cases
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
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72429
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, and/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 drycleaning 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.
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
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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 (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
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
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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, with this
published notice, includes 33 products
from 25 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. 2024–18767 Filed 9–4–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510–28–P
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Office of Workers’ Compensation
Programs
[OMB Control No. 1240–0001]
Proposed Extension of Information
Collection; Statement of Recovery
Division of Federal Employees’
Longshore and Harbor Workers’
Compensation (OWCP/DFELHWC),
Office of Workers’ Compensation
Programs, Labor.
ACTION: Request for public comments.
AGENCY:
The Department of Labor, as
part of its continuing effort to reduce
paperwork and respondent burden,
conducts a pre-clearance request for
comment to provide the general public
and Federal agencies with an
opportunity to comment on proposed
collections of information in accordance
with the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995. This request helps to ensure that:
requested data can be provided in the
desired format; reporting burden (time
and financial resources) is minimized;
collection instruments are clearly
understood; and the impact of collection
requirements on respondents can be
properly assessed. Currently, the Office
of Workers’ Compensation Programs,
Division of Federal Employees’
Longshore and Harbor Workers’
Compensation, (OWCP/DFELHWC) is
soliciting comments on the information
SUMMARY:
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collection for the Statement of Recovery,
CA–1122 Short form, and for the
Statement of Recovery, CA–1108 Long
Form.
DATES: All comments must be received
on or before November 4, 2024.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comment
as follows. Please note that late,
untimely filed comments will not be
considered.
Electronic Submissions: Submit
electronic comments in the following
way:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal:
https://www.regulations.gov. Comments
submitted electronically, including
attachments, to https://
www.regulations.gov will be posted to
the docket, with no changes. Because
your comment will be made public, you
are responsible for ensuring that your
comment does not include any
confidential information that you or a
third party may not wish to be posted,
such as your or anyone else’s Social
Security number or confidential
business information.
• If your comment includes
confidential information that you do not
wish to be made available to the public,
submit the comment as a written/paper
submission.
Written/Paper Submissions: Submit
written/paper submissions in the
following way:
• Mail/Hand Delivery: Mail or visit
DOL–OWCP/DFELHWC, Office of
Workers’ Compensation Programs,
Division of Federal Employees’
Longshore and Harbor Workers’
Compensation, U.S. Department of
Labor, 200 Constitution Ave. NW, Room
S–3323, Washington, DC 20210.
• OWCP/DFELHWC will post your
comment as well as any attachments,
except for information submitted and
marked as confidential, in the docket at
https://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Anjanette Suggs, Office of Workers’
Compensation Programs, Division of
Federal Employees’ Longshore, and
Harbor Workers’ Compensation, OWCP/
DFELHWC, at suggs.anjanette@dol.gov
@dol.gov (email); (202) 354–9660.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Division of Federal Employees’,
Longshore and Harbor Workers’
Compensation (DFELHWC) administers
the Federal Employees’ Compensation
Act (FECA). A Federal employee who
sustains a work-related injury is entitled
to receive compensation under the
FECA. If that injury is caused under
circumstances that create a legal
liability in a third party to pay damages,
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 172 (Thursday, September 5, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72428-72430]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-18767]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Notice of Final 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: Bureau of International Labor Affairs, Department of Labor.
ACTION: Notice of final determination.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This notice is a final determination to revise the list
required by Executive Order No. 13126 (``Prohibition of Acquisition of
Products Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor'', hereafter the
E.O. List). The E.O. List identifies a list of products, by their
country of origin, that the Department of Labor (DOL), in consultation
and cooperation with the Department of State (DOS) and the Department
of Homeland Security (DHS) (collectively, the Departments), has a
reasonable basis to believe might have been mined, produced, or
manufactured by forced or indentured child labor.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This final determination revises the E.O.
List required by E.O. 13126 in accordance with DOL's Procedural
Guidelines for the Maintenance of the List of Products Requiring
Federal Contractor Certification as to Forced or Indentured Child Labor
(Procedural Guidelines) as published in the January 18, 2001 Federal
Register (66 FR 5351). On May 10, 2024, DOL, in consultation and
cooperation with DOS and DHS, published a Notice of Initial
Determination in the Federal Register proposing to remove shrimp from
Thailand and garments from Vietnam from the E.O. List (89 FR 40509).
The initial determination stated the Departments had preliminarily
determined that the use of forced or indentured child labor in the
production of those products had been significantly reduced and invited
public comments until June 10, 2024, on whether these products should
be removed from the E.O. List.
The initial determination, and the public comments submitted, can
be viewed at Docket ID No. DOL-2024-0003 or requested from Ryan Olden
at: Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking (OCFT),
Bureau of International Labor Affairs, Room S-5317, U.S. Department of
Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20210; telephone:
(202) 693-48467, email: [email protected]. 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.
During the public comment period, DOL received one comment, which
was submitted by the National Fisheries Institute (NSI). The comment
made reference back to a previous comment NSI had submitted on a past
notice (USTR-2023-0003), published by the Office of the United States
Trade Representative (USTR). DOL, however, was unable to locate the
referenced comment, and thus could not consider it as part of its final
determination whether to remove shrimp from Thailand and/or garments
from Vietnam from the E.O. 13126 List. DOL located a separate comment
from the NSI on another USTR notification (USTR-2022-0006), which
outlines the NSI's recommendations related to a proposed USTR forced
labor strategy. However,
[[Page 72429]]
DOL ultimately determined that the comment was not responsive to the
Notice of Initial Determination, as it did not contain relevant
information specific to forced child labor in the production of either
shrimp from Thailand or garments from Vietnam.
Following the closure of the comment period on June 10, 2024, the
Departments concluded that based on available information, there is no
longer a reasonable basis to believe that forced or indentured child
labor is used 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 shrimp production in Thailand. This information
indicates that while 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 Departments
have 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
remain 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 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 Departments have 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
child trafficking cases 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,
and/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.
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
[[Page 72430]]
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 (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 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, with this published notice, includes 33 products from 25
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. 2024-18767 Filed 9-4-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-28-P
