82 FR 49855 - Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Forced or Indentured Child Labor in the Production of Goods in Foreign Countries and Efforts by Certain Foreign Countries To Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 207 (October 27, 2017)

This notice is a request for information and/or comment on three reports issued by the Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) regarding child labor and forced labor in certain foreign countries. Relevant information submitted by the public will be used by the Department of Labor (DOL) in preparation of its ongoing reporting under Congressional mandates and Presidential directive. The 2016 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor report (TDA report), published on September 20, 2017, assesses efforts by 138 countries to reduce the worst forms of child labor over the course of 2016 and reports whether countries made significant, moderate, minimal, or no advancement during that year. It also suggests actions foreign countries can take to eliminate the worst forms of child labor through legislation, enforcement, coordination, policies, and social programs. The 2016 edition of the List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor (TVPRA List), published on September 30, 2016, makes available to the public a list of goods from countries that ILAB has reason to believe are produced by child labor or forced labor in violation of international standards. Finally, the List of Products Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor (EO List), most recently published on December 1, 2014, provides a list of products, identified by country of origin, that DOL, in consultation and cooperation with the Departments of State (DOS) and Homeland Security (DHS), have a reasonable basis to believe might have been mined, produced or manufactured with forced or indentured child labor. Relevant information submitted by the public will be used by DOL in preparation of the next edition of the TDA report and TVPRA List, to be published in 2018, and for possible updates to the EO List as needed.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 207 (Friday, October 27, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49855-49857]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-23319]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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 
Foreign 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.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This notice is a request for information and/or comment on 
three reports issued by the Bureau of International Labor Affairs 
(ILAB) regarding child labor and forced labor in certain foreign 
countries. Relevant information submitted by the public will be used by 
the Department of Labor (DOL) in preparation of its ongoing reporting 
under Congressional mandates and Presidential directive. The 2016 
Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor report (TDA report), 
published on September 20, 2017, assesses efforts by 138 countries to 
reduce the worst forms of child labor over the course of 2016 and 
reports whether countries made significant, moderate, minimal, or no 
advancement during that year. It also suggests actions foreign 
countries can take to eliminate the worst forms of child labor through 
legislation, enforcement, coordination, policies, and social programs. 
The 2016 edition of the List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced 
Labor (TVPRA List), published on September 30, 2016, makes available to 
the public a list of goods from countries that ILAB has reason to 
believe are produced by child labor or forced labor in violation of 
international standards. Finally, the List of Products Produced by 
Forced or Indentured Child Labor (EO List), most recently published on 
December 1, 2014, provides a list of products, identified by country of 
origin, that DOL, in consultation and cooperation with the Departments 
of State (DOS) and Homeland Security (DHS), have a reasonable basis to 
believe might have been mined, produced or manufactured

[[Page 49856]]

with forced or indentured child labor. Relevant information submitted 
by the public will be used by DOL in preparation of the next edition of 
the TDA report and TVPRA List, to be published in 2018, and for 
possible updates to the EO List as needed.

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 12, 2018.
    To Submit Information: Information should be submitted directly to 
OCFT, Bureau of International Labor Affairs, U.S. Department of Labor. 
Comments, identified as ``Docket No. DOL-2017-0002'', 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): Alexa Gunter at U.S. Department of Labor, OCFT, Bureau of 
International Labor Affairs, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Room S-5315, 
Washington, DC 20210.
    Email: Email submissions should be addressed to both Alexa Gunter 
([email protected]) and the TVPRA List Mailbox ([email protected]).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alexa Gunter, (202) 693-4829. Please 
see contact information above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    I. The Trade and Development Act of 2000 (TDA), Public Law 106-200 
(2000), established eligibility criterion for receipt of trade benefits 
under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). The TDA amended 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.''
    The TDA Conference Report clarifies this mandate, indicating that 
the President consider the following when considering whether a country 
is complying with its obligations to eliminate the worst forms of child 
labor: (1) Whether the country has adequate laws and regulations 
proscribing the worst forms of child labor; (2) whether the country has 
adequate laws and regulations for the implementation and enforcement of 
such measures; (3) whether the country has established formal 
institutional mechanisms to investigate and address complaints relating 
to allegations of the worst forms of child labor; (4) whether social 
programs exist in the country to prevent the engagement of children in 
the worst forms of child labor, and to assist with the removal of 
children engaged in the worst forms of child labor; (5) whether the 
country has a comprehensive policy for the elimination of the worst 
forms of child labor; and (6) whether the country is making continual 
progress toward eliminating the worst forms of child labor.''
    DOL fulfills this reporting mandate through annual publication of 
the U.S. Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of Child 
Labor with respect to countries eligible for GSP. To access the 2016 
TDA report and Frequently Asked Questions, please visit https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/resources/reports/child-labor/findings/.
    II. Section 105(b) of the Trafficking Victims Protection 
Reauthorization Act of 2005 (``TVPRA of 2005''), Public Law 109-164 
(2006), 22 U.S.C. 7112(b), directed 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'' 
(TVPRA List).
    Pursuant to this mandate, on December 27, 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 
issued updates in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2016. (In 2014, 
ILAB began publishing the TVPRA List every other year, pursuant to 
changes in the law. See 22 U.S.C. 7112(b).) The next TVPRA List will be 
published in 2018. For a copy of previous editions of the 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/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods/.
    III. 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 
(``EO List''), identified by country of origin, that the Department, in 
consultation and cooperation with the Departments of State (DOS) and 
Treasury [relevant responsibilities are 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 
December 1, 2014, 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/reports/child-labor/list-of-products/index-country.htm.
    Information Requested and Invitation to Comment: Interested parties 
are invited to comment and provide information regarding these reports. 
DOL requests comments on or information relevant to maintaining and 
updating the TVPRA and EO Lists, updating the findings and suggested 
government actions for countries reviewed in the TDA report, and 
assessing 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 III of the report. Materials 
submitted should be confined to the specific topics of the TVPRA List, 
EO List, and TDA report. DOL will generally consider sources with dates 
up to five years old (i.e., data not older than January 1, 2013). DOL 
appreciates the extent to which

[[Page 49857]]

submissions clearly indicate the time period to which they apply. In 
the interest of transparency in our reporting, 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 TVPRA List, EO 
List, and TDA report 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 at 
https://www.dol.gov/ilab/submissions/.
    This notice is a general solicitation of comments from the public.

    Signed at Washington, DC, this 19 day of October 2017.
Martha Newton,
Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2017-23319 Filed 10-26-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-28-P