ILAB Issues Final Procedural Guidelines for Developing a List of Goods from Countries Produced by Child or Forced Labor
The Labor Department's Bureau of International Labor Affairs has issued its final procedural guidelines, effective December 27, 2007, for the development and maintenance of a list of goods from countries produced by child labor or forced labor in violation of international standards.
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In addition, ILAB requests information for use in compiling such a list by March 26, 2008.
(The final guidelines largely adopt ILAB's proposed guidelines of October 1, 2007, with certain clarifying changes. See ITT's Online Archives or 10/12/07 news, 07101235, for BP summary of the proposed guidelines.)
Information Requested on Child and Forced Labor for Creation of Initial List
ILAB requests current information about the nature and extent of child labor1 and forced labor2 in the production of goods internationally, as well as information on government, industry, or third-party actions and initiatives to address these problems.
Information must be submitted by March 26, 2008. ILAB states that information received after that date may not be taken into consideration in developing its initial list, but will be considered as the list is maintained and updated in the future.
Consideration Will be Given to Source, Relevance, Corroboration, Etc.
ILAB will consider and weigh several factors including the information's (1) nature and whether it is relevant and probative; (2) date (not older than seven years at the time of receipt, with more current information generally given priority); (3) source; (4) extent of corroboration; and (5) significant incidence (i.e. whether or not the information relates to an isolated incident or single company occurrence).
Stages in Production Chain Will Determine Which Goods/Countries are Placed on List
In determining which goods to place on the list, ILAB will, as appropriate, take into consideration the stages in the good's production chain (e.g., if child labor or forced labor were only used in the harvesting of raw materials that are used in a final good, only the raw materials and the country(ies) where they were harvested may be placed on the list).
ILAB states that this is to ensure a direct correspondence between the goods and countries which appear on the list and the use of child or forced labor.
Goods/Countries Meeting Criteria Will Be Listed, Reviewed Periodically
Goods and countries that meet the criteria outlined in the procedural guidelines (along with the sources used to identify them)3 will be placed on an initial list published in the Federal Register and on the Labor Department's Web site. For each entry, the list will indicate whether the good is made using child labor, forced labor, or both, but will not include any company or individual names.
Following publication of the initial list, ILAB will periodically review and update it as appropriate. According to the guidelines, in order for an entry to be removed from the list, information must be provided that demonstrates there is no significant incidence of child or forced labor in the production of the good in the country in question.
ILAB to Work to Keep Imports of Products Using Child/Forced Labor Out of U.S, Etc.
In addition to the publication of such a list, an ILAB fact sheet on the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005 (TVPRA), states that the TVPRA also requires ILAB to (partial list):
consult with other U.S. government departments and agencies to reduce forced and child labor internationally and ensure that products made by forced labor and child labor in violation of international standards are not imported into the U.S; and
work with persons who are involved in the production of goods on the list to create a standard set of practices that will reduce the likelihood that such persons will produce goods using child or forced labor.
1"Child labor" under international standards means all work performed by a person below the age of 15 as well as work performed by a person below the age of 18 in certain practices such as slavery, illicit activities, prostitution, etc. (See final guidelines for complete definition.)
2"Forced labor" under international standards means all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty for its nonperformance and for which the worker does not offer himself voluntarily, including indentured labor. (See final guidelines for complete definition.)
3Source material used in identifying goods and countries on the list will be redacted to remove company or individual names, and other confidential material.
ILAB contact-Director: Office of Child/Forced Labor, Human Trafficking (202) 693-4843
ILAB notice (FR Pub 12/27/07) available at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20071800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2007/pdf/E7-25036.pdf
ILAB fact sheet on TVPRA 2005 (dated 12/27/07) available at http://www.dol.gov/ILAB/programs/ocft/tvpra.htm