I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1397

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

for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 18, 1993

Mr. BROWN of California (for himself, Mr. LANTOS, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. SANDERS, and Mr. TOWNS) introduced the following bill; which

was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

NOVEMBER 3, 1993

Additional sponsors: Mr. VENTO, and Mr. SWETT

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 1993’’.

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

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following:
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1 (1) Principle 9 of the Declaration of the Rights

2 of the Child proclaimed by the General Assembly of

3 the United Nations on November 20, 1959, states

4 that ‘‘. . . the child shall not be admitted to employ5 ment before an appropriate minimum age; he shall

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

7 occupation or employment which would prejudice his

8 health or education, or interfere with his physical,

9 mental, or moral development . . .’’.

10 (2) Article 2 of the International Labor Con11 vention No. 138 Concerning Minimum Age For Ad12 mission to Employment states that, ‘‘The minimum

13 age specified in pursuance of paragraph 1 of this ar14 ticle shall not be less than the age of compulsory

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

16 years.’’.

17 (3) According to the International Labor Orga18 nization, worldwide an estimated 200,000,000 chil19 dren under age 15 are working, many of them in

20 dangerous industries like mining and fireworks.

21 (4) Children under the age 15 constitute ap22 proximately 11 percent of the workforce in some

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

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

25 America.
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1 (5) The number of children under age 15 who

2 are working, and the scale of their suffering, in3 crease every year, despite the existence of more than

4 20 International Labor Organization conventions on

5 child labor and laws in many countries which pur6 portedly prohibit the employment of under age

7 children.

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

9 15 lack either the legal standing or means to protect

10 themselves from exploitation in the workplace.

11 (7) The prevalence of child labor in many devel12 oping countries is rooted in widespread poverty that

13 is attributable to unemployment and

14 underemployment, precarious incomes, low living

15 standards, and insufficient education and training

16 opportunities among adult workers.

17 (8) The employment of children under the age

18 of 15 commonly deprives the children of the oppor19 tunity for basic education and also denies gainful

20 employment to millions of adults.

21 (9) The employment of children under the age

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

23 stability of families and ignores the importance of

24 increasing jobs, aggregated demand, and purchasing

25 power among adults as a catalyst to the development
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1 of internal markets and the achievement of broad2 based, self-reliant economic development in many de3 veloping countries.

4 (10) Adult workers in the United States and

5 other developed countries should not have their jobs

6 imperiled by imports produced by child labor in de7 veloping countries.

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

9 the employment of children under age 15 in the production

10 of goods for export by—

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

12 providing a market for foreign products made by un13 derage children; and

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

15 on trade in such products.

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

17 (1) to discourage actively the employment of

18 children under age 15 in the production of goods for

19 export or domestic consumption;

20 (2) to strengthen and supplement international

21 trading rules with a view to renouncing the use of

22 underage children in production as a means of com23 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 al7 leviate the underlying poverty that is often the cause

8 of the commercial exploitation of children under age

9 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 importer of the article has undertaken reasonable
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1 steps to ensure, to the extent practicable, that the

2 article is not a product of child labor.

3 (2) WRITTEN EVIDENCE.—The documentation

4 required by the Secretary under paragraph (1) shall

5 include written evidence that the agreement setting

6 forth the terms and conditions of the acquisition or

7 provision of the imported article includes the condi8 tion that the article not be a product of child labor.

9 SEC. 6. PENALTIES.

10 (a) UNLAWFUL ACTS.—It is unlawful—

11 (1) during the effective identification period ap12 plicable to a foreign industry and its host country,

13 to attempt to enter any manufactured article that is

14 a product of that industry if the entry is prohibited

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

16 (2) to violate any regulation prescribed under

17 section 7.

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

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

20 penalty of not to exceed $25,000.

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

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

23 intentionally commits any unlawful act set forth in sub24 section (a) is, upon conviction, liable for a fine of not less
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1 than $10,000 and not more than $35,000, or imprison2 ment for 1 year, or both.

3 (d) CONSTRUCTION.—The violations set forth in sub4 section (a) shall be treated as violations of the customs

5 laws for purposes of applying the enforcement provisions

6 of the Tariff Act of 1930, including—

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

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

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

10 (3) section 619 (relating to compensation to in11 formers).

12 SEC. 7. REGULATIONS.

13 The Secretary shall prescribe regulations that are

14 necessary or appropriate to carry out this Act.

15 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.

16 For the purposes of this Act:

17 (1) MANUFACTURED ARTICLE.—A manufac18 tured article shall be treated as being a product of

19 child labor if the article—

20 (A) was fabricated, assembled, or proc21 essed, in whole or part;

22 (B) contains any part that was fabricated,

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

24 (C) was mined, quarried, pumped, or oth25 erwise extracted, by one or more children who
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1 engaged in the fabrication, assembly, process2 ing, or extraction—

3 (i) in exchange for remuneration (re4 gardless to whom paid), subsistence, goods

5 or services, or any combination of the fore6 going;

7 (ii) under circumstances tantamount

8 to involuntary servitude; or

9 (iii) under exposure to toxic sub10 stances or working conditions otherwise

11 posing serious health hazards.

12 (2) CHILD.—The term ‘‘child’’ means an indi13 vidual who has not attained the age of 15, as meas14 ured by the Julian calendar.

15 (3) EFFECTIVE IDENTIFICATION PERIOD.—The

16 term ‘‘effective identification period’’ means, with re17 spect to a foreign industry or country, the period

18 that—

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

20 Federal Register in which the identification of

21 the foreign industry or country is published

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

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

24 the Federal Register in which the revocation of
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1 the identification referred to in subparagraph

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

3 (4) ENTERED.—The term ‘‘entered’’ means en4 tered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consump5 tion, in the customs territory of the United States.

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

7 industry’’ includes any entity that produces a manu8 factured article in a host country.

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

10 means any foreign country and any possession or

11 territory of a foreign country that is administered

12 separately for customs purposes (and includes any

13 designated zone within such country, possession, or

14 territory) in which a foreign industry is located.

15 (7) MANUFACTURED ARTICLE.—The term

16 ‘‘manufactured article’’ means any good that is fab17 ricated, assembled, or processed. The term also in18 cludes any mineral resource (including any mineral

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

20 resource that at entry has been subjected to only

21 washing, crushing, grinding, powdering, levigation,

22 sifting, screening, or concentration by flotation,

23 magnetic separation, or other mechanical or physical

24 processes shall be treated as having been processed

25 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.

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