Notice of Publication to the Department of Labor's List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor, and Updates to the List of Products Requiring Federal Contractor Certification as to Forced or Indentured Child Labor, 72897-72898 [2024-20153]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 173 (Friday, September 6, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72897-72898]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-20153]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

[Agency Docket Number DOL-2024-0005]


Notice of Publication to the Department of Labor's List of Goods 
Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor, and Updates to the List of 
Products Requiring Federal Contractor Certification as to Forced or 
Indentured Child Labor

AGENCY: Bureau of International Labor Affairs, U.S. Department of 
Labor.

ACTION: Notice of publication of List of Goods Produced by Child labor 
or Forced Labor and proposed revisions to the List of Products 
Requiring Federal Contractor Certification as to Forced or Indentured 
Child Labor pursuant to Executive Order 13126; request for information.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the publication on September 5, 2024, of 
an updated list of goods--along with countries of origin--that the 
Department of Labor (DOL) has reason to believe are produced with child 
labor or forced labor in violation of international standards (the 
TVPRA List). DOL, in consultation with U.S. Departments of State and 
Homeland Security, also proposes to revise the list required by the 
Executive order entitled ``Prohibition of Acquisition of Products 
Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor'' to add garments from 
Bangladesh and invites public comments. Finally, DOL invites 
information and/or comment on the likelihood of child labor and/or 
forced child labor in the production of shrimp from India, on child 
labor and/or forced labor risks in gold supply chain inputs connected 
to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and any other product not mentioned 
in this notice.

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 11:59 p.m. ET, 
December 16, 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 by 11:59 p.m. ET, on December 16, 2024. Comments, 
identified as ``Docket No. DOL-2024-0005,'' 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.
    Digital Accessibility: 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.
    Facsimile (fax): OCFT at 202-693-4830.

[[Page 72898]]

    Mail, Express Delivery, Hand Delivery, and Messenger Service (1 
copy): Matthew Fraterman 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 Matthew Fraterman. 
Email: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew Fraterman, Office of Child 
Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking, Bureau of International 
Labor Affairs, U.S. Department of Labor at (202) 693-4833 (this is not 
a toll-free number) or [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.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. TVPRA List: The Bureau of International 
Labor Affairs (ILAB) announces the publication of the eleventh edition 
of the List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor (TVPRA 
List), pursuant to the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization 
Act of 2005, as amended (TVPRA). DOL published the initial TVPRA List 
on September 10, 2009, and has since published ten updated editions. 
The 2024 edition of the TVPRA List includes 204 goods from 82 
countries. This eleventh edition adds a total of 72 items and removes 
four items from the TVPRA List: blueberries from Argentina, salt from 
Cambodia, fluorspar from Mongolia, and shrimp from Thailand.
    Section 105(b) of the Trafficking Victims Protection 
Reauthorization Act of 2005, Public Law 109-164 (2006), 22 U.S.C 
7112(b), as amended by section 133 of the Frederick Douglass 
Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 
2018, Public Law 115-425 (2019), directs 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, 
including, to the extent practicable, goods that are produced with 
inputs that are produced with forced labor or child labor.''
    The primary purposes of the TVPRA List are to raise public 
awareness about the prevalence of child labor and forced labor in the 
production of goods in the countries listed and to promote efforts to 
eliminate such practices. The updated TVPRA List, methodology, and 
bibliography of sources is available on DOL's website.
    II. E.O. 13126 List: DOL is requesting public comment on the 
revision to the list proposed below, as well as any other issue related 
to the fair and effective implementation of Executive Order (E.O.) 
13126, ``Prohibition of Acquisition of Products Produced by Forced or 
Indentured Child Labor''. 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.
    The E.O. 13126 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 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. 13126 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 (48 CFR 22.1503).
    In conducting research for this initial determination, DOL 
considered a wide variety of materials based on its own research and 
originating from other U.S. Government agencies, international 
organizations, non-governmental organizations, academic and other 
independent research, media, and other sources. In developing the 
proposed revision to the E.O. 13126 List, DOL's 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 or not a product should be placed on the 
revised E.O. 13126 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 other 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 or industry (66 FR 5351).
    This notice constitutes the initial determination to revise the 
E.O. 13126 List. Based on recent credible and appropriately 
corroborated information from various sources, the Departments 
preliminarily conclude there is a reasonable basis to believe that the 
following product, identified by the country of origin, might have been 
mined, produced, or manufactured by forced or indentured child labor: 
garments from Bangladesh. DOL invites public comment on whether this 
product should be included in the revised E.O. 13126 List.
    III. Request for Information: Finally, DOL invites public comment 
on whether other goods or products, regardless of whether they are 
mentioned in this notice, should be included in or removed from the 
E.O. 13126 List and/or future editions of the TVPRA List.
    Specifically, DOL seeks information and/or comment on the 
likelihood of child labor and/or forced child labor in the production 
of shrimp from India. DOL has not determined at this time to add shrimp 
from India to the E.O. 13126 List but requests relevant information on 
this and any other products that pertain to the maintenance of the E.O. 
13126 List.
    In addition, DOL seeks information and/or comment on child labor 
and/or forced labor in gold supply chain inputs in the production of 
downstream goods in the UAE, including gold originating from the 
Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, 
Mali, Sudan, Zimbabwe, and any other relevant countries, as well as 
efforts to address child labor and/or forced labor in global supply 
chains in Africa and improve traceability into the UAE and other 
markets. DOL has not determined at this time to add gold from the UAE 
to the TVPRA List but requests relevant information on this and any 
other products that pertain to the maintenance of the TVPRA List.
    Where applicable, information submitted should indicate its source 
or sources and copies of the source material should be provided. If 
primary sources are utilized, such as research studies, interviews, 
direct observations, or other sources of quantitative or qualitative 
data, details on the research or data-gathering methodology should be 
provided.

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

    Signed at Washington, DC, this 3rd day of September, 2024.
Thea Mei Lee,
Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2024-20153 Filed 9-4-24; 8:45 am]
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