I

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4693

To prohibit the importation of goods produced abroad with child labor, and

for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 30, 1994

Mr. BROWN of California introduced the following bill; which was referred

jointly to the Committees on Foreign Affairs and Ways and Means

A BILL

To prohibit the importation of goods produced abroad with

child labor, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Child Labor Deter5 rence Act of 1994’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS, PURPOSE, AND POLICY.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following:

8 (1) Principle 9 of the Declaration of the Rights

9 of the Child proclaimed by the General Assembly of

10 the United Nations on November 20, 1959, states
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1 that ‘‘. . . the child shall not be admitted to employ2 ment before an appropriate minimum age; he shall

3 in no case be caused or permitted to engage in any

4 occupation or employment which would prejudice his

5 health or education, or interfere with his physical,

6 mental, or moral development . . .’’.

7 (2) Article 2 of the International Labor Con8 vention No. 138 Concerning Minimum Age For Ad9 mission to Employment states that, ‘‘The minimum

10 age specified in pursuance of paragraph 1 of this ar11 ticle shall not be less than the age of compulsory

12 schooling and, in any case, shall not be less than 15

13 years.’’.

14 (3) According to the International Labor Orga15 nization, worldwide an estimated 200,000,000 chil16 dren under age 15 are working, many of them in

17 dangerous industries like mining and fireworks.

18 (4) Children under the age 15 constitute ap19 proximately 11 percent of the workforce in some

20 Asian countries, 17 percent in parts of Africa, and

21 a reported 12–26 percent in many countries in Latin

22 America.

23 (5) The number of children under age 15 who

24 are working, and the scale of their suffering, in25 crease every year, despite the existence of more than
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1 20 International Labor Organization conventions on

2 child labor and laws in many countries which pur3 portedly prohibit the employment of under age

4 children.

5 (6) In many countries, children under the age

6 15 lack either the legal standing or means to protect

7 themselves from exploitation in the workplace.

8 (7) The prevalence of child labor in many devel9 oping countries is rooted in widespread poverty that

10 is attributable to unemployment and

11 underemployment, precarious incomes, low living

12 standards, and insufficient education and training

13 opportunities among adult workers.

14 (8) The employment of children under the age

15 of 15 commonly deprives the children of the oppor16 tunity for basic education and also denies gainful

17 employment to millions of adults.

18 (9) The employment of children under the age

19 of 15, often at pitifully low wages, undermines the

20 stability of families and ignores the importance of

21 increasing jobs, aggregated demand, and purchasing

22 power among adults as a catalyst to the development

23 of internal markets and the achievement of broad24 based, self-reliant economic development in many de25 veloping countries.
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1 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to curtail

2 the employment of children under age 15 in the production

3 of goods for export by—

4 (1) eliminating the role of the United States in

5 providing a market for foreign products made by un6 derage children;

7 (2) supporting activities and programs to ex8 tend primary education, rehabilitation, and alter9 native skills training to underage child workers, to

10 improve birth registration, and to improve the scope

11 and quality of statistical information and research

12 on the commercial exploitation of children in the

13 workplace; and

14 (3) encouraging other nations to join in a ban

15 on trade in products described in paragraph (1) and

16 to support those activities and programs described in

17 paragraph (2).

18 (c) POLICY.—It is the policy of the United States—

19 (1) to discourage actively the employment of

20 children under age 15 in the production of goods for

21 export or domestic consumption;

22 (2) to strengthen and supplement international

23 trading rules with a view to renouncing the use of

24 underage children in production as a means of com25 peting in international trade;
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1 (3) to amend United States law to prohibit the

2 entry into commerce of products resulting from the

3 labor of underage children; and

4 (4) to offer assistance to foreign countries to

5 improve the enforcement of national laws prohibiting

6 the employment of children under age 15 and to in7 crease assistance to alleviate the underlying poverty

8 that is often the cause of the commercial exploi9 tation of children under age 15.

10 SEC. 3. UNITED STATES INITIATIVE TO CURTAIL INTER11 NATIONAL TRADE IN PRODUCTS OF CHILD

12 LABOR.

13 In pursuit of the policy set forth in this Act, the

14 President is urged to seek an agreement with governments

15 that conduct trade with the United States for the purpose

16 of securing an international ban on trade in the products

17 of child labor.

18 SEC. 4. IDENTIFICATION OF FOREIGN INDUSTRIES AND

19 THEIR RESPECTIVE HOST COUNTRIES THAT

20 UTILIZE CHILD LABOR IN EXPORT OF GOODS.

21 (a) IDENTIFICATION OF INDUSTRIES AND HOST

22 COUNTRIES.—The Secretary of Labor (hereafter in this

23 section referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall undertake

24 periodic reviews using all available information, including

25 information made available by the International Labor Or-
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1 ganization and human rights organizations (the first such

2 review to be undertaken not later than 180 days after the

3 date of the enactment of the Act), to identify any foreign

4 industry that—

5 (1) does not comply with the applicable national

6 laws prohibiting child labor in the workplace;

7 (2) utilizes child labor in the export of products;

8 and

9 (3) has on a continuing basis exported products

10 of child labor to the United States.

11 For purposes of this Act, the identification of a foreign

12 industry shall be treated as also being an identification

13 of the host country.

14 (b) PETITIONS REQUESTING IDENTIFICATION.—

15 (1) FILING.—Any person may file a petition

16 with the Secretary requesting that a particular for17 eign industry and its host country be identified

18 under subsection (a). The petition must set forth the

19 allegations in support of the request.

20 (2) ACTION ON RECEIPT OF PETITION.—Not

21 later than 90 days after receiving a petition under

22 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall—

23 (A) decide whether or not the allegations

24 in the petition warrant further action by the
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1 Secretary in regard to the foreign industry and

2 its host country under subsection (a); and

3 (B) notify the petitioner of the decision

4 under subparagraph (A) and the facts and rea5 sons supporting the decision.

6 (c) CONSULTATION AND COMMENT.—Prior to identi7 fying a foreign industry and its host country under sub8 section (a), the Secretary shall—

9 (1) consult with the United States Trade Rep10 resentative, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of

11 Commerce, and the Secretary of the Treasury re12 garding such action;

13 (2) hold at least 1 public hearing within a rea14 sonable time for the receipt of oral comment from

15 the public regarding such a proposed identification;

16 (3) publish notice in the Federal Register—

17 (A) that such an identification is being

18 considered,

19 (B) of the time and place of the hearing

20 scheduled under paragraph (2), and

21 (C) inviting the submission within a rea22 sonable time of written comment from the pub23 lic; and

24 (4) take into account the information obtained

25 under paragraphs (1), (2), and (3).
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1 (d) REVOCATION OF IDENTIFICATION.—

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),

3 the Secretary may revoke the identification of any

4 foreign industry and its host country under sub5 section (a) if information available to the Secretary

6 indicates that such action is appropriate.

7 (2) REPORT OF SECRETARY.—No revocation

8 under paragraph (1) may take effect earlier than the

9 60th day after the date on which the Secretary sub10 mits to the Congress a written report—

11 (A) stating that in the opinion of the Sec12 retary the foreign industry and host country

13 concerned does not utilize child labor in the ex14 port of products; and

15 (B) stating the facts on which such opinion

16 is based and any other reason why the Sec17 retary considers the revocation appropriate.

18 (3) PROCEDURE.—No revocation under para19 graph (1) may take effect unless the Secretary—

20 (A) publishes notice in the Federal Reg21 ister that such a revocation is under consider22 ation and inviting the submission within a rea23 sonable time of oral and written comments from

24 the public on the revocation; and
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1 (B) takes into account the information re2 ceived under subparagraph (A) before preparing

3 the report required under paragraph (2).

4 (e) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall—

5 (1) promptly publish in the Federal Register—

6 (A) the name of each foreign industry and

7 its host country identified under subsection (a);

8 (B) the text of the decision made under

9 subsection (b)(2)(A) and a statement of the

10 facts and reasons supporting the decision; and

11 (C) the name of each foreign industry and

12 its host country with respect to which an identi13 fication has been revoked under subsection (d);

14 and

15 (2) maintain in the Federal Register a current

16 list of all foreign industries and their respective host

17 countries identified under subsection (a).

18 SEC. 5. PROHIBITION ON ENTRY.

19 (a) PROHIBITION.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para21 graph (2), during the effective identification period

22 for a foreign industry and its host country the Sec23 retary may not permit the entry of any manufac24 tured article that is a product of that foreign indus25 try.
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1 (2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not

2 apply to the entry of a manufactured article—

3 (A) for which a certification that meets the

4 requirements of subsection (b) is provided and

5 the article, or the packaging in which it is of6 fered for sale, contains, in accordance with reg7 ulations prescribed by the Secretary, a label

8 stating that the article is not a product of child

9 labor;

10 (B) that is entered under any subheading

11 in subchapter IV or VI of chapter 98 (relating

12 to personal exemptions) of the Harmonized

13 Tariff Schedule of the United States; or

14 (C) that was exported from the foreign in15 dustry and its host country and was en route

16 to the United States before the first day of the

17 effective identification period for such industry

18 and its host country.

19 (b) CERTIFICATION THAT ARTICLE IS NOT A PROD20 UCT OF CHILD LABOR.—

21 (1) FORM AND CONTENT.—The Secretary shall

22 prescribe the form and content of documentation, for

23 submission in connection with the entry of a manu24 factured article, that satisfies the Secretary that the

25 exporter of the article in the host country, and the
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1 importer of the article into the customs territory of

2 the United States, have undertaken reasonable steps

3 to ensure, to the extent practicable, that the article

4 is not a product of child labor.

5 (2) REASONABLE STEPS.—For purposes of

6 paragraph (1), ‘‘reasonable steps’’ include—

7 (A) in the case of the exporter of an article

8 in the host country—

9 (i) having entered into a contract,

10 with an organization described in para11 graph (4) in that country for allowing in12 spections for the purpose of certifying that

13 the article is not a product of child labor,

14 and will affix a label, protected under the

15 copyright or trademark laws of the host

16 country, that contains such certification;

17 and

18 (ii) having affixed to the article a

19 label described in clause (i); and

20 (B) in the case of the importer of an arti21 cle into the customs territory of the United

22 States, having required the certification and

23 label described in subparagraph (A) in the

24 agreement setting forth the terms and condi-
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1 tions of the acquisition or provision of the im2 ported article.

3 (3) WRITTEN EVIDENCE.—The documentation

4 required by the Secretary under paragraph (1) shall

5 include written evidence that the reasonable steps

6 set forth in paragraph (2) have been taken.

7 (4) CERTIFYING ORGANIZATIONS.—The Sec8 retary shall compile and maintain a list of independ9 ent professional, internationally credible organiza10 tions, in any host country identified under section 4,

11 that have been established for the purpose of con12 ducting inspections, certifying, and labelling that

13 manufactured articles to be exported from that

14 country are not products of child labor. Each such

15 organization may consist of, but not be limited to,

16 representatives of nongovernmental child welfare or17 ganizations, manufacturers, exporters, national gov18 ernments, and neutral international organizations.

19 SEC. 6. PENALTIES.

20 (a) UNLAWFUL ACTS.—It is unlawful—

21 (1) during the effective identification period ap22 plicable to a foreign industry and its host country,

23 to attempt to enter any manufactured article that is

24 a product of that industry if the entry is prohibited

25 under section 5(a)(1); or
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1 (2) to violate any regulation prescribed under

2 section 7.

3 (b) CIVIL PENALTY.—Any person who commits any

4 unlawful act set forth in subsection (a) is liable for a civil

5 penalty of not to exceed $25,000.

6 (c) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—In addition to being liable

7 for a civil penalty under subsection (b), any person who

8 intentionally commits any unlawful act set forth in sub9 section (a) is, upon conviction, liable for a fine of not less

10 than $10,000 and not more than $35,000, or imprison11 ment for 1 year, or both.

12 (d) CONSTRUCTION.—The violations set forth in sub13 section (a) shall be treated as violations of the customs

14 laws for purposes of applying the enforcement provisions

15 of the Tariff Act of 1930, including—

16 (1) the search, seizure and forfeiture provisions;

17 (2) section 592 (relating to penalties for entry

18 by fraud, gross negligence, or negligence); and

19 (3) section 619 (relating to compensation to in20 formers).

21 SEC. 7. REGULATIONS.

22 The Secretary shall prescribe regulations that are

23 necessary or appropriate to carry out this Act.

24 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.

25 For the purposes of this Act:
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1 (1) MANUFACTURED ARTICLE.—A manufac2 tured article shall be treated as being a product of

3 child labor if the article—

4 (A) was fabricated, assembled, or proc5 essed, in whole or part;

6 (B) contains any part that was fabricated,

7 assembled, or processed, in whole or in part; or

8 (C) was mined, quarried, pumped, or oth9 erwise extracted;

10 by one or more children who engaged in the fabrica11 tion, assembly, processing, or extraction—

12 (i) in exchange for remuneration (regard13 less to whom paid), subsistence, goods or serv14 ices, or any combination of the foregoing;

15 (ii) under circumstances tantamount to in16 voluntary servitude; or

17 (iii) under exposure to toxic substances or

18 working conditions otherwise posing serious

19 health hazards.

20 (2) CHILD.—The term ‘‘child’’ means—

21 (A) an individual who has not attained the

22 age of 15, as measured by the Julian calendar;

23 or

24 (B) an individual who has not attained the

25 age of 14, as measured by the Julian calendar,
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1 in the case of a country identified under section

2 4 whose national laws define a child as such an

3 individual.

4 (3) EFFECTIVE IDENTIFICATION PERIOD.—The

5 term ‘‘effective identification period’’ means, with re6 spect to a foreign industry or country, the period

7 that—

8 (A) begins on the date of that issue of the

9 Federal Register in which the identification of

10 the foreign industry or country is published

11 under section 4(e)(1)(A); and

12 (B) terminates on the date of that issue on

13 the Federal Register in which the revocation of

14 the identification referred to in subparagraph

15 (A) is published under section 4(e)(1)(B).

16 (4) ENTERED.—The term ‘‘entered’’ means en17 tered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consump18 tion, in the customs territory of the United States.

19 (5) FOREIGN INDUSTRY.—The term ‘‘foreign

20 industry’’ includes any entity that produces a manu21 factured article in a host country.

22 (6) HOST COUNTRY.—The term ‘‘host country’’

23 means any foreign country and any possession or

24 territory of a foreign country that is administered

25 separately for customs purposes (and includes any
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1 designated zone within such country, possession, or

2 territory) in which a foreign industry is located.

3 (7) MANUFACTURED ARTICLE.—The term

4 ‘‘manufactured article’’ means any good that is fab5 ricated, assembled, or processed. The term also in6 cludes any mineral resource (including any mineral

7 fuel) that is entered in a crude state. Any mineral

8 resource that at entry has been subjected to only

9 washing, crushing, grinding, powdering, levigation,

10 sifting, screening, or concentration by flotation,

11 magnetic separation, or other mechanical or physical

12 processes shall be treated as having been processed

13 for the purposes of this Act.

14 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’, except

15 for purposes of section 4, means the Secretary of the

16 Treasury.

17 SEC. 9. UNITED STATES SUPPORT FOR DEVELOPMENTAL

18 ALTERNATIVES FOR UNDERAGE CHILD

19 WORKERS.

20 In order to carry out section 2(c)(4), there is author21 ized to be appropriated to the President the sum of—

22 (1) $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1994

23 through 1998 for a United States contribution to

24 the International Labor Organization for the activi-
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1 ties of the International Program on the Elimination

2 of Child Labor; and

3 (2) $100,000 for fiscal year 1995 for a United

4 States contribution to the United Nations Commis5 sion on Human Rights for those activities relating to

6 bonded child labor that are carried out by the Sub7 committee and Working Group on Contemporary

8 Forms of Slavery.

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