CBP should prohibit the import of cotton yarn and fabric from Uzbekistan because the cotton is harvested by forced labor, said the International Labor Rights Forum and Cotton Campaign in a letter to the agency (here). The groups say cotton processors in Uzbekistan use only forced labor to manufacture the cotton and fabric. The government-run cotton industry requires its citizens to work in the cotton production system or potentially face a number of disciplinary actions, including loss of state welfare and physical abuse, they said. A press release on the complaint is (here).
The Labor Department updated its list of goods it believes to have been produced by child labor or forced labor to add four goods (baked goods, beef, fish and thread/yarn), from 3 countries (South Sudan, Suriname and Vietnam). The full report, including the updated list and a discussion of the list’s context, scope, methodology, and limitations, as well as frequently asked questions and a bibliography of sources, will be available on the DOL website here.
The Labor Department’s Office of Trade and Labor Affairs (OTLA) is requesting comments and information related to an allegation that the Dominican Republic failed to fulfill its obligations under the labor chapter of the Dominican Republic-Central America-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) (here). Specifically, the submission alleges that the Government of the Dominican Republic failed to fulfill its obligations under the labor chapter through actions or lack thereof that denied workers in the sugar sector their rights under the laws of the Dominican Republic relating to freedom of association, the right to organize, child labor, forced labor, the right to bargain collectively, and acceptable conditions of work. Comments are due by July 2.
The Labor Department's Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) is seeking public comments and relevant information to assist it in updating three reports on child and forced labor in foreign countries: (i) one on the worst forms of child labor, (ii) another on goods believed to be produced by forced and/or child labor; and (iii) products needing Federal contractor certification. Comments are due by March 9, 2012.
The following are trade-related highlights of the Executive Communications sent to Congress on October 6- 13, 2011:
The Labor Department's Bureau of International Labor Affairs announced the publication of an updated list of goods, along with countries of origin, that it has reason to believe are produced by child labor or forced labor in violation of international standards. Changes include adding incense (agarbatti1) from India, the country of Mauritania, and listing cotton for Mali.
The Labor Department's Bureau of International Labor Affairs has issued an initial determination that proposes to add three new items to the "List of Products Requiring Federal Contractor Certification as to Forced or Indentured Child Labor” which it preliminarily believes might have been mined, produced or manufactured by forced or indentured child labor.
The Labor Department's Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) is seeking public comments and relevant information to assist it in updating three reports on child and/or forced labor in foreign countries. One report is on the worst forms of child labor; another lists goods believed to be produced by forced and/or child labor; and the third lists products needing Federal contractor certification.
The Foreign Agricultural Service is requesting public comment by July 11, 2011, on its guidelines for reducing the likelihood that agricultural products or commodities imported into the U.S. are produced by child or forced labor. The voluntary guidelines include third party monitoring and verification recommendations.
The Labor Department’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) has updated the list of goods (and countries of origin) it has reason to believe are produced by child labor and/or forced labor, in violation of international standards. This is ILAB’s first update to the list, which was first published in September 2009.