81 FR 39714 - Notice of Extension of Request for Public Comment Regarding Revising the List of Products Requiring Federal Contractor Certification as to Forced or Indentured Child Labor Pursuant to Executive Order 13126

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Office of the Secretary of Labor

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 117 (June 17, 2016)

This notice reopens and extends the period for comments on the Notice of Initial Determination published in the Federal Register on December 2, 2014, proposing to add carpets from India to the List of Products Requiring Federal Contractor Certification as to Forced or Indentured Child Labor (the EO List) (77 FR 59418). The EO List is required by Executive Order 13126 (Prohibition of Acquisition of Products Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor), and is developed in accordance with the ``Procedural Guidelines for the Maintenance of the List of Products Requiring Federal Contractor Certification as to Forced or Indentured Child Labor Under 48 CFR Subpart 22.15 and E.O. 13126.'' The EO List identifies products, by their country of origin, that the Department of Labor, in consultation and cooperation with the Departments of State and Homeland Security (collectively, the Departments), has a reasonable basis to believe might have been mined, produced or manufactured by forced or indentured child labor. In addition to proposing to add a one new item, carpets from India, to the EO List, the initial determination invited comments from the public. Since the initial comment period, additional comments have been submitted to and gathered by the Departments. This notice reopens and extends the comment period on the initial determination, including all of the information that was submitted and gathered during the comment period and after it closed. The comments have raised issues as to whether the evidence is sufficient at this time to satisfy our criteria for adding carpets from India to the EO list; however, a final determination will not be made until the public has had an opportunity to comment on the initial determination and the evidence in the record. The Departments will consider all public comments prior to publishing a final determination revising the EO List.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 117 (Friday, June 17, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39714-39716]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-14407]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Secretary of Labor


Notice of Extension of Request for Public Comment Regarding 
Revising 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: Request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This notice reopens and extends the period for comments on the 
Notice of Initial Determination published in the Federal Register on 
December 2, 2014, proposing to add carpets from India to the List of 
Products Requiring Federal Contractor Certification as to Forced or 
Indentured Child Labor (the EO List) (77 FR 59418). The EO List is 
required by Executive Order 13126 (Prohibition of Acquisition of 
Products Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor), and is 
developed in accordance with the ``Procedural Guidelines for the 
Maintenance of the List of Products Requiring Federal Contractor 
Certification as to Forced or Indentured Child Labor Under 48 CFR 
Subpart 22.15 and E.O. 13126.'' The EO List identifies products, by 
their country of origin, that the Department of Labor, in consultation 
and cooperation with the Departments of State and Homeland Security 
(collectively, the Departments), has a reasonable basis to believe 
might have been mined, produced or manufactured by forced or indentured 
child labor. In addition to proposing to add a one new item, carpets 
from India, to the EO List, the initial determination invited comments 
from the public.

[[Page 39715]]

Since the initial comment period, additional comments have been 
submitted to and gathered by the Departments. This notice reopens and 
extends the comment period on the initial determination, including all 
of the information that was submitted and gathered during the comment 
period and after it closed. The comments have raised issues as to 
whether the evidence is sufficient at this time to satisfy our criteria 
for adding carpets from India to the EO list; however, a final 
determination will not be made until the public has had an opportunity 
to comment on the initial determination and the evidence in the record. 
The Departments will consider all public comments prior to publishing a 
final determination revising the EO List.

DATES: Information should be submitted to the Office of Child Labor, 
Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking (OCFT) via one of the methods 
described below by no later than 5 p.m. July 15, 2016.
    To Submit Information, or For Further Information, Contact: 
Information submitted to the Department 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-2014-0004,'' 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 (2 
copies): Rachel Rigby/Charita Castro, at U.S. Department of Labor, 
OCFT, Bureau of International Labor Affairs, 200 Constitution Avenue 
NW., Room S-5317, Washington, DC 20210.
    Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Initial Determination

    On December 2, 2014, the Department of Labor (DOL), in consultation 
and cooperation with the Department of State (DOS) and the Department 
of Homeland Security (DHS and collectively, the Departments), published 
a Notice of Initial Determination in the Federal Register proposing to 
add carpets from India to the List of Products Requiring Federal 
Contractor Certification as to Forced or Indentured Child Labor (the EO 
List) (77 FR 59418). The initial determination can be accessed on the 
Internet at https://federalregister.gov/a/2014-27624
    The initial determination invited public comment until January 30, 
2015, on whether carpets from India should be included in a revised EO 
List, as well as any other issues related to the fair and effective 
implementation of Executive Order 13126. During the comment period, 
three public comments were submitted. Following the conclusion of the 
public comment period, nineteen additional comments were submitted to 
or gathered by the Departments. All comments are available for public 
viewing at http://www.regulations.gov (reference Docket ID No. DOL-
2014-0004).
    The initial determination and the public comments can also be 
obtained from: 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) 693-4843; fax: (202) 693-4830.

II. Information Sought

    DOL is reopening and extending the period for public comments on 
the initial determination proposing to revise the EO List to add 
carpets from India. DOL invites the public to comment on whether 
carpets from India should be included in the revised EO List, including 
comments on all of the information submitted or gathered since the 
publication of the initial determination. The comments have raised 
issues as to whether the evidence is sufficient at this time to satisfy 
our criteria for adding carpets from India to the EO list; however, a 
final determination will not be made until the public has had an 
opportunity to comment on the initial determination and the evidence in 
the record. To the extent possible, comments provided should address 
the criteria for inclusion of a product on the EO List contained in the 
Procedural Guidelines discussed below. The information that has been 
received on this good is available at http://www.regulations.gov 
(reference Docket ID No. DOL-2014-0004).
    In conducting research for the initial determination, the 
Departments considered a wide variety of materials based on their own 
research and originating 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 EO List, the 
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 are 
weighed in determining whether or not a product should be placed on the 
EO 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 or industry (66 FR 5351).
    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 at http://www.regulations.gov.
    Following receipt and consideration of comments on the addition to 
the EO List of carpets from India, DOL, in consultation with DOS and 
DHS, will issue a final determination in the Federal Register. The 
Departments intend to continue to review the EO List periodically to 
add and/or remove products as warranted by the receipt of new and 
credible information.

III. Background

    The first EO List was published on January 18, 2001 (66 FR 5353). 
The EO List was subsequently revised on July 20, 2010 (75 FR 42164); on 
May 31, 2011 (76 FR 31365); on April 3, 2012 (77 FR 20051); and on July 
23, 2013 (78 FR 44158).
    Executive Order 13126, which was published in the Federal Register 
on June 16, 1999 (64 FR 32383), 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 Executive Order 13126, and 
following public notice and comment, DOL published in the January 18, 
2001, Federal Register a list of products, identified by their country 
of origin, that DOL, in consultation and cooperation with DOS and the 
Department of the Treasury (relevant responsibilities now

[[Page 39716]]

within DHS), had a reasonable basis to believe might have been mined, 
produced or manufactured by forced or indentured child labor. (66 FR 
5353).
    Pursuant to Section 3 of Executive Order 13126, the Federal 
Acquisition Regulatory Council published a final rule in the Federal 
Register on January 18, 2001, providing, amongst other requirements, 
that federal contractors who supply products that appear on the EO List 
must 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 child labor. (48 
CFR Subpart 22.15).
    DOL also published on January 18, 2001, ``Procedural Guidelines for 
the Maintenance of the List of Products Requiring Federal Contractor 
Certification as to Forced or Indentured Child Labor'' (``Procedural 
Guidelines''), which provide for maintaining, reviewing, and, as 
appropriate, revising the EO List. (66 FR 5351). The Procedural 
Guidelines provide that the EO List may be revised either through 
consideration of submissions by individuals or on the initiative of 
DOL, DOS and DHS. In either event, when proposing to revise the EO 
List, DOL must publish in the Federal Register a notice of initial 
determination, which includes any proposed alteration to the EO List. 
DOL, DOS and DHS consider all public comments prior to the publication 
of a final determination of a revised EO List.

IV. Definitions

    Under Section 6(c) of EO 13126: ``Forced or indentured child 
labor'' means all work or service--
    (1) Exacted from any person 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.

    Signed at Washington, DC, this 13th day of June, 2016.
Carol Pier,
Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2016-14407 Filed 6-16-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4510-28-P