Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 12 / Thursday, January 18, 2001 / Notices 5351

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Secretary

Bureau of International Labor Affairs;

Procedural Guidelines for the

Maintenance of the List of Products

Requiring Federal Contractor

Certification as to Forced or

Indentured Child Labor Under 48 CFR

Subpart 22.15 and E.O. 13126

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Labor.

ACTION: Notice of procedural guidelines.

SUMMARY: This notice sets out

procedural guidelines pertaining to the

submission of information, review, and

reporting process utilized by the

Department of Labor’s International

Child Labor Program in maintaining and

revising the list of products requiring

certification as to forced or indentured

child labor, pursuant to amendments to

the Federal Acquisition Regulation

(FAR), 48 CFR Subpart 22.15 and

Executive Order No. 13126

(‘‘Prohibition of Acquisition of Products

Produced by Forced or Indentured Child

Labor’’).

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 18, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ami

Thakkar, International Child Labor

Program, Bureau of International Labor

Affairs, Room S–5303, U.S. Department

of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue,

NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone:

(202) 208–4843; fax: (202) 219–4923.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Executive

Order No. 13126 (‘‘Prohibition of

Acquisition of Products Produced by

Forced or Indentured Child Labor’’) was

signed by President Clinton on June 12,

1999. The Executive Order 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 Section 2 of the Executive

Order, and following public notice and

comment (including a public hearing

held on August 10, 1999), the

Department of Labor is publishing in

today’s Federal Register a final list of

products, identified by their country of

origin, that the Department, in

consultation and cooperation with the

Departments of State and Treasury, has

a reasonable basis to believe might have

mined, produced or manufactured with

forced or indentured child labor. The

List can be accessed on the Internet at

www.dol.gov/dol/ilab or can be

obtained from: International Child Labor

Program, Bureau of International Labor

Affairs, Room S–5303, U.S. Department

of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue,

NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone:

(202) 208–4843; fax (202) 219–4923.

Pursuant to Section 3 of the Executive

Order, in today’s Federal Register, the

Federal Acquisition Regulatory Councils

published a final rule, pursuant to

which federal contractors who supply

products which appear on the list

issued by the Department of Labor must

certify to the contracting officer that the

contractor or, in the case of an

incorporated contractor, a responsible

official of the contractor has made a

good faith effort to determine whether

forced or indentured child labor was

used to mine, produce, or manufacture

any product furnished under the

contract and that, on the basis of those

efforts, the contractor is unaware of any

such use of child labor. The regulation

also imposes other requirements with

respect to contracts for products on the

Department of Labor’s list.

The Department of Labor expects that,

over time, new information may become

available with respect to the use of

forced or indentured child labor and

that other developments relevant to the

list of products requiring certification as

to forced or indentured child labor may

occur. For example, new instances of

the use of forced or indentured child

labor may be discovered. Alternatively,

the practice of using forced or

indentured child labor in a particular

country or industry may be effectively

eliminated.

Accordingly, to carry out the purposes

of FAR Subpart 22.15 and Executive

Order No. 13126, the Department of

Labor, may be required to examine and/

or revise the list originally published

today. The Department of Labor believes

that it would be appropriate to establish

a process by which members of the

public may bring relevant information

to the attention of the Department of

Labor.

This Notice sets out the procedural

guidelines that the Department of Labor

intends to follow to maintain, examine,

and, as appropriate, revise the list of

products required by Executive Order

No. 13126 and incorporated in 48 CFR

Subpart 22.15. Under the guidelines,

public notice and opportunity for

comment will be provided before a

product is added to, or deleted from, the

Department of Labor’s list.

Signed at Washington, DC, this 5th day of

January, 2001.

Andrew J. Samet,

Deputy Under Secretary for International

Affairs.

Notice of Procedural Guidelines

Section A. What Department of Labor

Office Is Responsible for Maintaining

the List of Products Requiring Federal

Contractor Certification as to Forced or

Indentured Child Labor?

1. The International Child Labor

Program, within the Bureau of

International Labor Affairs of the U.S.

Department of Labor, will review all

submissions of information relevant to

the List of Products Requiring Federal

Contractor Certification as to Forced or

Indentured Child Labor, as published

pursuant to Executive Order No. 13126

(‘‘Prohibition of Acquisition of Products

Produced by Forced or Indentured Child

Labor’’), and reflected in the FAR 48

CFR Subpart 22.15.

2. The International Child Labor

Program, in consultation with the

Departments of State and Treasury, will

determine if such submissions may

establish the need to add entries to, or

delete entries from, the List of Products

Requiring Federal Contractor

Certification as to Forced or Indentured

Child Labor.

Section B. What Do the Terms Used in

These Procedural Guidelines Mean?

As used in these Guidelines:

‘‘Adequate information’’ means

information relevant to the development

of a reasonable basis for belief that a

particular product included or not

included on the List might have been

mined, produced, or manufactured

wholly or in part by forced or

indentured child labor;

‘‘The List’’ means the List of Products

Requiring Contractor Certification as to

Forced or Indentured Child Labor as

published in accordance with Executive

Order 13126 and reflected in FAR 48

CFR Subpart 22.15;

‘‘Non-governmental organization’’

means any scientific, professional,

business, non-profit, or public interest

organization or association which is

neither affiliated with, nor under the

direction of, a government;

‘‘Office’’ means the International

Child Labor Program of the Bureau of

International Labor Affairs of the United

States Department of Labor;

‘‘Person’’ means one or more

individuals, non-governmental

organizations, labor organizations,

partnerships, associations, corporations,

governmental entities, or legal

representatives.

5352 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 12 / Thursday, January 18, 2001 / Notices

Section C. What Are the Functions of

the Office With Respect to the List?

1. The Office shall—

(a) In consultation and cooperation

with the Departments of State and

Treasury, compile and maintain a

current list of products and their

countries of origin contained on the

List;

(b) Periodically review and revise the

List, as appropriate, either on the basis

of information submissions from

members of the public or on its own

initiative, subject to public notice and

comment;

(c) Receive, accept for review, and

review information submissions

pertaining to the inclusion on or

deletion from the List, as set out in

Sections D, E, and F;

(a) Consider and weigh several factors

including: the nature of the information

describing the use of forced or

indentured child labor; the source of the

information; the date of the information;

the extent of corroboration of the

information by appropriate sources;

whether the information involved more

than an isolated incident; and whether

recent and credible efforts are being

made to address forced or indentured

child labor in a particular country and

industry; and

(e) Include in the List the name and

telephone number of the office

responsible for its maintenance.

2. The List shall indicate—

(a) The names of products, identified

by their country of origin, for which

there is a reasonable basis to believe that

the product might have been mined,

produced, or manufactured wholly or in

part by forced or indentured child labor;

(b) The date on which the product

was included on the List.

3. Questions on the List—information

is available by direct request to the

Office by writing the International Child

Labor Program, Bureau of International

Labor Affairs, Rm. S–5303, U.S.

Department of Labor, 200 Constitution

Ave, NW., Washington, DC 20210.

Section D. How May a Person Submit

Information to the Office Regarding

Adding or Deleting a Product From the

List?

1. Any person may file an information

submission with the Office regarding

either the inclusion of a product on the

List or the deletion of a product from

the List. A single copy is satisfactory for

filing. Filing may be by hand delivery,

mail delivery, or facsimile transmission.

2. The submission should identify

clearly the person filing the submission

and should be signed and dated. It

should state with specificity the product

and its country of origin which the

submitter requests the Office to consider

and should include relevant information

available to the submitter.

Section E. How will the Office decide to

accept a submission of information?

1. Within 60 days, unless there are

good reasons for delay, the Office will

decide whether to accept a submission

of information for review. The Office

may communicate with the submitter

during this period regarding any matter

relating to the decision.

2. In general, the Office may accept a

submission of information if it provides

adequate information and if a review

would not be inconsistent with

Executive Order No. 13126 or applicable

laws or regulations.

3. The Office may decline to accept a

submission for review if, in its

discretion, it determines that:

(a) The submission does not identify

clearly the person filing the submission

or is not signed and dated;

(b) The submission does not provide

adequate information;

(c) The matter raised is not within the

scope of 48 CFR Subpart 22.15 or

Executive Order No. 13126.

(d) The submission is substantially

similar to a recent submission and

significant new information has not

been provided; or

(e) Review of the submission would

otherwise be inappropriate.

4. If the Office declines to accept a

submission for review, the Office

promptly will notify the submitter in

writing and will provide the reasons for

the decision.

5. If the Office accepts a submission

of information, review will follow those

procedures described in Section F.

Section F. What review process will be

followed after a submission of

information is accepted by the Office?

1. Following a decision by the Office

to accept a submission of information,

the Office will conduct such further

examination of the available

information as necessary or appropriate

to assist the Office in making a

determination.

2. Except for information exempt from

public inspection, information relevant

to the review will be placed in a public

file. Information exempt from public

inspection will be placed in a separate

file.

3. The Office, in its discretion, may

hold a hearing regarding the product

raised in the submission of information,

for the purpose of receiving information

from interested persons.

4. The Office, after consulting with

the Departments of Treasury and State,

will publish in the Federal Register a

notice of initial determination, which

will include any proposed alteration to

be made to the List. Public comments

will be accepted for at least 30 days

following publication of the Federal

Register notice. Submissions relating to

the same product and country may be

resolved by joint determinations.

5. Any person may submit, in person,

in writing, or through a representative,

information and argument in support of

or in opposition to the proposed

determination, including any additional

specific information that relates to the

proposed revision of the List. The Office

will consider all comments prior to

publication of a final determination,

which will be made in consultation and

cooperation with the Departments of

State and Treasury.

Section G. What process will the Office

use to update the List on its own

initiative?

1. If the Office obtains adequate

information, other than through public

submission, it will publish in the

Federal Register a notice of initial

determination, which will include any

proposed alteration to be made to the

List. Public comments will be accepted

for at least 30 days following

publication of the notice of initial

determination.

2. Any person may submit, in person,

in writing, or through a representative,

information and argument in support of

or in opposition to the initial

determination, including any additional

specific information that relates to the

proposed revision of the List. The Office

will consider all comments prior to

publication of a final determination,

made in consultation and cooperation

with the Departments of State and

Treasury.

Section H. How will the Office

communicate a final determination

about a product’s placement on the List?

1. A final determination on whether a

product will be added to, or deleted

from, the List will be published in the

Federal Register.

2. The List will be revised in

accordance with a final determination

as to a particular product, identified by

its country of origin. The Office will

maintain a current copy of the List.

[FR Doc. 01–952 Filed 1–17–01; 8:45 am]

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