[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 232 (Tuesday, December 3, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72714-72715]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-28839]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Forced or Indentured Child Labor
in the Production of Goods in Foreign Countries and Efforts by Certain
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
reports issued by the Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB)
September 30, 2013, regarding child labor and forced labor in foreign
countries. Relevant information will be used by the Department of Labor
(DOL) in preparation of its ongoing reporting under Congressional
mandates and Presidential directive. In addition, ILAB will use
relevant information to conduct assessments of each country's
individual advancement toward eliminating the worst forms of child
labor during the current reporting period compared to previous years.
DATES: Submitters of information are requested to provide their
submission to the Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor and Human
Trafficking (OCFT) at the email or physical address below by 5 p.m.
January 15, 2014.
To Submit Information: Information submitted to DOL should be
submitted directly to OCFT, Bureau of International Labor Affairs, U.S.
Department of Labor at (202) 693-4843 (this is not a toll free number).
Comments, identified as ``Docket No. DOL-2013-0003'' may be submitted
by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
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): Tina McCarter and Randall Hicks at U.S. Department of Labor,
OCFT, Bureau of International Labor Affairs, 200 Constitution Avenue
NW., Room S-5317, Washington, DC 20210.
Email: Email submissions should be addressed to both Tina McCarter
([email protected]) and Randall Hicks ([email protected]).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tina McCarter and Randall Hicks (see
contact information above).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Section 105(b)(1) of the Trafficking Victims Protection
Reauthorization Act of 2005 (``TVPRA of 2005''), Public Law 109-164
(2006), directed the Secretary of Labor, acting through ILAB, to
``develop and make available to the public a list of goods from
countries that the Bureau of International Labor Affairs has reason to
believe are produced by forced labor or child labor in violation of
international standards'' (TVPRA List).
Pursuant to this mandate, in December 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
List after its initial publication.
ILAB published its first TVPRA List on September 30, 2009, and has
issued updates in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013. This List is updated
periodically as additional countries and territories are researched and
new information for countries and territories already reviewed is
evaluated. For a copy of the 2013 TVPRA List, Frequently Asked
Questions, and other materials relating to the TVPRA List, see ILAB's
TVPRA Web page at http://www.dol.gov/ILAB/programs/ocft/tvpra.htm.
II. 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.'' 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. List''), identified by country of origin, that the Department,
in consultation and cooperation with the Departments of State (DOS) and
Treasury [relevant responsibilities 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 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 EO List (66 FR 5351).
Pursuant to Sections D through G of the Procedural Guidelines, the
EO List may be updated through consideration of submissions by
individuals or through OCFT's own initiative.
DOL has officially revised the EO List four times, most recently on
July 23, 2013, each time after public notice and comment as well as
consultation with DOS and DHS.
The current EO List, Procedural Guidelines, and related information
can be accessed on the Internet at http://www.dol.gov/ILAB/regs/eo13126/main.htm.
III. The Trade and Development Act of 2000 (TDA), Public Law 106-
200 (2002), established a new eligibility criterion for receipt of
trade benefits under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP),
Caribbean Basin Trade and Partnership Act (CBTPA), and Africa Growth
and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The TDA amends 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.'' Title II of the TDA and the TDA Conference
Report, Joint Explanatory Statement of the Committee of Conference,
106th Cong.2d.Sess. (2000), indicate that the same criterion applies
for the receipt of benefits under CBTPA and AGOA, respectively.
In addition, the Andean Trade Preference Act, as amended and
expanded by the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act, Public
Law 107-210, Title XXXI (2002), includes as a criterion for receiving
benefits ``[w]hether the country has implemented its commitments to
eliminate the worst forms of child labor as defined in section 507(6)
of the Trade Act of 1974.'' DOL fulfills these reporting mandates
through annual publication of the U.S. Department of Labor's Findings
on the Worst Forms of
[[Page 72715]]
Child Labor with respect to countries eligible for the aforementioned
programs. The 2012 report and additional background information are
available on the Internet at http://www.dol.gov/ILAB/programs/ocft/tda.htm.
Information Requested and Invitation to Comment: Interested parties
are invited to comment and provide information regarding DOL's 2012 TDA
Report; the 2013 TVPRA List; and the current E.O. 13126 List, all of
which may be found on the Internet at http://www.dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/research.htm or obtained from OCFT. DOL requests comments or
information to update the findings and suggestions for government
action for countries reviewed in the TDA Report, as well as to assess
each country's individual advancement toward eliminating the worst
forms of child labor during the current reporting period compared to
previous years. For more information on the types of issues covered in
the TDA Report, please see Appendix II of the report. In addition, DOL
especially appreciates information on the nature and extent of child
labor, forced labor, and forced or indentured child labor in the
production of goods in foreign countries as well as information on
government, industry, or third-party actions to address these issues
for countries reviewed for the E.O. and TVPRA lists. Materials
submitted should be confined to the specific topics of these reports.
DOL will generally consider sources with dates up to five years old
(i.e., data not older than January 1, 2008). DOL appreciates the extent
to which submissions clearly indicate the time period to which they
apply. In the interest of transparency, 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 observations, or other sources of quantitative or
qualitative data, details on the research or data-gathering methodology
should be provided. Please see the 2012 TDA Report, 2013 TVPRA List,
and E.O. List for a complete explanation of relevant terms,
definitions, and reporting guidelines employed by DOL.
This notice is a general solicitation of comments from the public.
Signed at Washington, DC, this 21st day of November 2013.
Carol Pier,
Acting Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2013-28839 Filed 12-2-13; 8:45 am]
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