I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2065

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

for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JULY 19, 1995

Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts (for himself, Ms. RIVERS, Mr. VENTO, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. BONIOR, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. MILLER of California, Mr. BROWN of California, Mr. BROWN of Ohio, Mr.

GEPHARDT, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mr. GEJDENSON, Mr. WYNN, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. WILSON, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. LANTOS, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr.

DEFAZIO, Mr. VISCLOSKY, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. REED, Mr. OLVER, Mr.

STARK, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. ROMERO-BARCELO ́, Mr. SANDERS, Mr.

FILNER, Mrs. MINK of Hawaii, Ms. NORTON, Mr. OWENS, and Mr.

EVANS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations, and in addition to the Committee on Ways

and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker,

in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

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 1995’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS, PURPOSE, AND POLICY.

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

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

4 of the Child proclaimed by the General Assembly of

5 the United Nations on November 20, 1959, states

6 that ‘‘. . . the child shall not be admitted to employ7 ment before an appropriate minimum age; he shall

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

9 occupation or employment which would prejudice his

10 health or education, or interfere with his physical,

11 mental, or moral development . . .’’.

12 (2) Article 2 of the International Labor Con13 vention No. 138 Concerning Minimum Age For Ad14 mission to Employment states that, ‘‘The minimum

15 age specified in pursuance of paragraph 1 of this ar16 ticle shall not be less than the age of compulsory

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

18 years.’’.

19 (3) According to the International Labor Orga20 nization, worldwide an estimated 200,000,000 chil21 dren under age 15 are working, many of them in

22 dangerous industries like mining and fireworks.

23 (4) Children under the age 15 constitute ap24 proximately 11 percent of the workforce in some

25 Asian countries, 17 percent in parts of Africa, and
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1 a reported 12–26 percent in many countries in Latin

2 America.

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

4 are working, and the scale of their suffering, in5 crease every year, despite the existence of more than

6 20 International Labor Organization conventions on

7 child labor and laws in many countries which pur8 portedly prohibit the employment of under age

9 children.

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

11 of 15 lack either the legal standing or means to pro12 tect themselves from exploitation in the workplace.

13 (7) The prevalence of child labor in many devel14 oping countries is rooted in widespread poverty that

15 is attributable to unemployment and underem16 ployment, precarious incomes, low living standards,

17 and insufficient education and training opportunities

18 among adult workers.

19 (8) The employment of children under the age

20 of 15 commonly deprives the children of the oppor21 tunity for basic education and also denies gainful

22 employment to millions of adults.

23 (9) The employment of children under the age

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

25 stability of families and ignores the importance of
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1 increasing jobs, aggregated demand, and purchasing

2 power among adults as a catalyst to the development

3 of internal markets and the achievement of broad4 based, self-reliant economic development in many de5 veloping countries.

6 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to curtail

7 the employment of children under age 15 in the production

8 of goods for export by—

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

10 providing a market for foreign products made by un11 derage children;

12 (2) supporting activities and programs to ex13 tend primary education, rehabilitation, and alter14 native skills training to underage child workers, to

15 improve birth registration, and to improve the scope

16 and quality of statistical information and research

17 on the commercial exploitation of children in the

18 workplace; and

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

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

21 to support those activities and programs described in

22 paragraph (2).

23 (c) POLICY.—It is the policy of the United States—
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1 (1) to discourage actively the employment of

2 children under age 15 in the production of goods for

3 export or domestic consumption;

4 (2) to strengthen and supplement international

5 trading rules with a view to renouncing the use of

6 underage children in production as a means of com7 peting in international trade;

8 (3) to amend United States law to prohibit the

9 entry into commerce of products resulting from the

10 labor of underage children; and

11 (4) to offer assistance to foreign countries to

12 improve the enforcement of national laws prohibiting

13 the employment of children under age 15 and to in14 crease assistance to alleviate the underlying poverty

15 that is often the cause of the commercial exploi16 tation of children under age 15.

17 SEC. 3. UNITED STATES INITIATIVE TO CURTAIL INTER18 NATIONAL TRADE IN PRODUCTS OF CHILD

19 LABOR.

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

21 President is urged to seek an agreement with governments

22 that conduct trade with the United States for the purpose

23 of securing an international ban on trade in the products

24 of child labor.
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1 SEC. 4. IDENTIFICATION OF FOREIGN INDUSTRIES AND

2 THEIR RESPECTIVE HOST COUNTRIES THAT

3 UTILIZE CHILD LABOR IN EXPORT OF GOODS.

4 (a) IDENTIFICATION OF INDUSTRIES AND HOST

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

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

7 periodic reviews using all available information, including

8 information made available by the International Labor Or9 ganization and human rights organizations (the first such

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

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

12 industry that—

13 (1) does not comply with the applicable national

14 laws prohibiting child labor in the workplace;

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

16 and

17 (3) has on a continuing basis exported products

18 of child labor to the United States.

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

20 industry shall be treated as also being an identification

21 of the host country.

22 (b) PETITIONS REQUESTING IDENTIFICATION.—

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

24 with the Secretary requesting that a particular for25 eign industry and its host country be identified
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1 under subsection (a). The petition must set forth the

2 allegations in support of the request.

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

4 later than 180 days after receiving a petition under

5 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall—

6 (A) decide whether or not the allegations

7 in the petition warrant further action by the

8 Secretary in regard to the foreign industry and

9 its host country under subsection (a); and

10 (B) notify the petitioner of the decision

11 under subparagraph (A) and the facts and rea12 sons supporting the decision.

13 (c) CONSULTATION AND COMMENT.—Prior to identi14 fying a foreign industry and its host country under sub15 section (a), the Secretary shall—

16 (1) consult with the United States Trade Rep17 resentative, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of

18 Commerce, and the Secretary of the Treasury re19 garding such action;

20 (2) hold at least 1 public hearing within a rea21 sonable time for the receipt of oral comment from

22 the public regarding such a proposed identification;

23 (3) publish notice in the Federal Register—

24 (A) that such an identification is being

25 considered,
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1 (B) of the time and place of the hearing

2 scheduled under paragraph (2), and

3 (C) inviting the submission within a rea4 sonable time of written comment from the pub5 lic; and

6 (4) take into account the information obtained

7 under paragraphs (1), (2), and (3).

8 (d) REVOCATION OF IDENTIFICATION.—

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

10 the Secretary may revoke the identification of any

11 foreign industry and its host country under sub12 section (a) if information available to the Secretary

13 indicates that such action is appropriate.

14 (2) REPORT OF SECRETARY.—No revocation

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

16 60th day after the date on which the Secretary sub17 mits to the Congress a written report—

18 (A) stating that in the opinion of the Sec19 retary the foreign industry and host country

20 concerned does not utilize child labor in the ex21 port of products; and

22 (B) stating the facts on which such opinion

23 is based and any other reason why the Sec24 retary considers the revocation appropriate.
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1 (3) PROCEDURE.—No revocation under para2 graph (1) may take effect unless the Secretary—

3 (A) publishes notice in the Federal Reg4 ister that such a revocation is under consider5 ation and inviting the submission within a rea6 sonable time of oral and written comments from

7 the public on the revocation; and

8 (B) takes into account the information re9 ceived under subparagraph (A) before preparing

10 the report required under paragraph (2).

11 (e) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall—

12 (1) promptly publish in the Federal Register—

13 (A) the name of each foreign industry and

14 its host country identified under subsection (a);

15 (B) the text of the decision made under

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

17 facts and reasons supporting the decision; and

18 (C) the name of each foreign industry and

19 its host country with respect to which an identi20 fication has been revoked under subsection (d);

21 and

22 (2) maintain in the Federal Register a current

23 list of all foreign industries and their respective host

24 countries identified under subsection (a).
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1 SEC. 5. PROHIBITION ON ENTRY.

2 (a) PROHIBITION.—

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para4 graph (2), during the effective identification period

5 for a foreign industry and its host country the Sec6 retary may not permit the entry of any manufac7 tured article that is a product of that foreign indus8 try.

9 (2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not

10 apply to the entry of a manufactured article—

11 (A) for which a certification that meets the

12 requirements of subsection (b) is provided and

13 the article, or the packaging in which it is of14 fered for sale, contains, in accordance with reg15 ulations prescribed by the Secretary, a label

16 stating that the article is not a product of child

17 labor;

18 (B) that is entered under any subheading

19 in subchapter IV or VI of chapter 98 (relating

20 to personal exemptions) of the Harmonized

21 Tariff Schedule of the United States; or

22 (C) that was exported from the foreign in23 dustry and its host country and was en route

24 to the United States before the first day of the

25 effective identification period for such industry

26 and its host country.
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1 (b) CERTIFICATION THAT ARTICLE IS NOT A PROD2 UCT OF CHILD LABOR.—

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

4 prescribe the form and content of documentation, for

5 submission in connection with the entry of a manu6 factured article, that satisfies the Secretary that the

7 exporter of the article in the host country, and the

8 importer of the article into the customs territory of

9 the United States, have undertaken reasonable steps

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

11 is not a product of child labor.

12 (2) REASONABLE STEPS.—For purposes of

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

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

15 in the host country—

16 (i) having entered into a contract with

17 an organization described in paragraph (4)

18 in that country for allowing inspections for

19 the purpose of certifying that the article is

20 not a product of child labor, and that a

21 label, protected under the copyright or

22 trademark laws of the host country, that

23 contains such certification is affixed to the

24 article; and
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1 (ii) having affixed to the article a

2 label described in clause (i); and

3 (B) in the case of the importer of an arti4 cle into the customs territory of the United

5 States, having required the certification and

6 label described in subparagraph (A) in the

7 agreement setting forth the terms and condi8 tions of the acquisition or provision of the im9 ported article.

10 (3) WRITTEN EVIDENCE.—The documentation

11 required by the Secretary under paragraph (1) shall

12 include written evidence that the reasonable steps

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

14 (4) CERTIFYING ORGANIZATIONS.—The Sec15 retary shall compile and maintain a list of independ16 ent professional, internationally credible organiza17 tions, in any host country identified under section 4,

18 that have been established for the purpose of con19 ducting inspections, certifying, and labelling that

20 manufactured articles to be exported from that

21 country are not products of child labor. Each such

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

23 representatives of nongovernmental child welfare or24 ganizations, manufacturers, exporters, national gov25 ernments, and neutral international organizations.
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1 SEC. 6. PENALTIES.

2 (a) UNLAWFUL ACTS.—It is unlawful—

3 (1) during the effective identification period ap4 plicable to a foreign industry and its host country,

5 to attempt to enter any manufactured article that is

6 a product of that industry if the entry is prohibited

7 under section 5(a)(1); or

8 (2) to violate any regulation prescribed under

9 section 7.

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

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

12 penalty of not to exceed $25,000.

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

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

15 intentionally commits any unlawful act set forth in sub16 section (a) is, upon conviction, liable for a fine of not less

17 than $10,000 and not more than $35,000, or imprison18 ment for not more than 1 year, or both.

19 (d) CONSTRUCTION.—The violations set forth in sub20 section (a) shall be treated as violations of the customs

21 laws for purposes of applying the enforcement provisions

22 of the Tariff Act of 1930, including—

23 (1) the search, seizure, and forfeiture provi24 sions;

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

26 by fraud, gross negligence, or negligence); and
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1 (3) section 619 (relating to compensation to in2 formers).

3 SEC. 7. REGULATIONS.

4 The Secretary shall prescribe regulations that are

5 necessary or appropriate to carry out this Act.

6 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.

7 For the purposes of this Act:

8 (1) MANUFACTURED ARTICLE.—A manufac9 tured article shall be treated as being a product of

10 child labor if the article—

11 (A) was fabricated, assembled, or proc12 essed, in whole or part,

13 (B) contains any part that was fabricated,

14 assembled, or processed, in whole or in part, or

15 (C) was mined, quarried, pumped, or oth16 erwise extracted,

17 by one or more children who engaged in the fabrica18 tion, assembly, processing, or extraction—

19 (i) in exchange for remuneration (regard20 less to whom paid), subsistence, goods or serv21 ices, or any combination of the foregoing;

22 (ii) under circumstances tantamount to in23 voluntary servitude; or
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1 (iii) under exposure to toxic substances or

2 working conditions otherwise posing serious

3 health hazards.

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

5 (A) an individual who has not attained the

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

7 or

8 (B) an individual who has not attained the

9 age of 14, as measured by the Julian calendar,

10 in the case of a country identified under section

11 4 whose national laws define a child as such an

12 individual.

13 (3) EFFECTIVE IDENTIFICATION PERIOD.—The

14 term ‘‘effective identification period’’ means, with re15 spect to a foreign industry or country, the period

16 that—

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

18 Federal Register in which the identification of

19 the foreign industry or country is published

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

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

22 the Federal Register in which the revocation of

23 the identification referred to in subparagraph

24 (A) is published under section 4(e)(1)(C).
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1 (4) ENTERED.—The term ‘‘entered’’ means en2 tered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consump3 tion, in the customs territory of the United States.

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

5 industry’’ includes any entity that produces a manu6 factured article in a host country.

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

8 means any foreign country and any possession or

9 territory of a foreign country that is administered

10 separately for customs purposes (and includes any

11 designated zone within such country, possession, or

12 territory) in which a foreign industry is located.

13 (7) MANUFACTURED ARTICLE.—The term

14 ‘‘manufactured article’’ means any good that is fab15 ricated, assembled, or processed. The term also in16 cludes any mineral resource (including any mineral

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

18 resource that at entry has been subjected to only

19 washing, crushing, grinding, powdering, levigation,

20 sifting, screening, or concentration by flotation,

21 magnetic separation, or other mechanical or physical

22 processes shall be treated as having been processed

23 for the purposes of this Act.
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1 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’, except

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

3 Treasury.

4 SEC. 9. UNITED STATES SUPPORT FOR DEVELOPMENTAL

5 ALTERNATIVES FOR UNDERAGE CHILD

6 WORKERS.

7 In order to carry out section 2(c)(4), there is author8 ized to be appropriated to the President the sum of—

9 (1) $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1996

10 through 2000 for a United States contribution to

11 the International Labor Organization for the activi12 ties of the International Program on the Elimination

13 of Child Labor; and

14 (2) $100,000 for fiscal year 1996 for a United

15 States contribution to the United Nations Commis16 sion on Human Rights for those activities relating to

17 bonded child labor that are carried out by the Sub18 committee and Working Group on Contemporary

19 Forms of Slavery.

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