The Labor Department’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs is seeking information by June 14, 2010 on the actions that firms, business associations, and other private sector groups are taking to reduce the likelihood of child labor and forced labor in the production of goods.
One of the five strategic goals of the Fiscal Year 2011 Department of Labor budget request is to "foster fair working conditions in the global marketplace." In support of this goal, the FY 2011 budget request includes increased funding for the Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB).
As part of its fiscal year 2011 budget justification document, the Department of Homeland Security listed numerous FY 2011 goals for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Highlights of those goals for ICE's Offices of Domestic and International Investigations include:
The Foreign Agricultural Service has issued a notice announcing that it will hold a public meeting of the Consultative Group to Eliminate the Use of Child Labor and Forced Labor in Imported Agricultural Products1 on March 29, 2010.
The Labor Department's Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) has issued a notice seeking information on child labor and forced labor in foreign countries as part of its preparation to meet various reporting requirements.
The Labor Department's Bureau of International Labor Affairs has issued a report and initial list of 122 goods in 58 countries it has reason to believe are produced with forced labor, child labor, or both, in violation of international standards.
The Labor Department and the Departments of State and Homeland Security have preliminarily concluded that there is a reasonable basis to believe that the following products, identified by their country of origin, might have been mined, produced, or manufactured by forced or indentured child labor:
On August 6, 2009, Senate Finance Committee leaders Baucus (D) and Grassley (R) introduced the "Customs Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Reauthorization Act of 2009" (S.1631).
The House Rules Committee has posted the amendments that have been offered for the "American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009" (ACES), H.R. 2454, which the House is scheduled to considered on June 26, 2009.
On April 28, 2009 China and Peru signed a free trade agreement in Beijing. The agreement is the first FTA package China has signed with a Latin American country. (Notice, dated 04/28/09, available at http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90883/6647262.html)