Industry News
Department of Labor Proposes to Require Federal Contractor Certification as to Child Labor for more Products
TweetSeptember 11, 2009
On September 10, 2009, the Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) released an initial determination proposing to update the list of products, by country of origin that it believes might have been mined, produced, or manufactured by forced or indentured labor pursuant to Executive Order No, 13126 (“Prohibition of Acquisition of Products Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor”). E.O. 13126 prohibits federal agencies from acquiring products on this list unless the federal contractor supplying the product certifies that they have made a good faith effort to determine that forced or indentured child labor was not used to mine, produce, or manufacture the covered product.
The current enforced list was issued in 2001 and has not been updated since. Based on recent, credible, appropriately corroborated information, the ILAB has preliminarily concluded that there is a reasonable basis to believe that the following products, identified by their country of origin, might now be produced with the use of forced or indentured child labor:
PRODUCT |
COUNTRY |
Bamboo |
|
Beans (green, yellow, soy) |
|
Brazil Nuts/Chestnuts |
|
Bricks |
|
Carpets |
|
Charcoal |
|
Coal |
|
Coca (stimulant plant) |
|
|
|
Coffee |
|
Cotton |
|
Cottonseed (hybrid) |
|
Diamonds |
|
Electronics |
|
Embroidered Textiles (zari) |
|
Garments |
|
Gold |
|
Granite |
|
Gravel (crushed stones) |
|
Pornography |
|
Rice |
|
Rubber |
|
Shrimp |
|
Stones |
|
Sugarcane |
|
Teak |
|
Tilapia (fish) |
|
Tobacco |
|
Toys |
|
The ILAB invites public comment on its initial determinations as to the products listed above, especially regarding whether these precuts (and/or other products, regardless of whether they are mentioned above) should be included on the updated list requiring federal contractor certification as to the use of forced or indentured child labor. The ILAB is also interested in comments relating to whether products initially determined to be on the List are designated with the appropriate specificity and what, if any, alternative designations would better serve the purposes of E.O. 13126.
Comments are due by December 10, 2009. The ILAB expects to issue a final list after considering all comments received, in consultation and cooperation with the Departments of State and Homeland Security.