I 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5635 

To amend the Tariff Act of 1930 to prohibit the import, export, and sale 

of goods made with sweatshop labor, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 16, 2006 

Mr. BROWN of Ohio (for himself, Mr. RYAN of Ohio, Mr. STRICKLAND, Ms. 

KAPTUR, and Mrs. JONES of Ohio) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to 

the Committees on Armed Services, Government Reform, Rules, Energy 

and Commerce, and International Relations, 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 amend the Tariff Act of 1930 to prohibit the import, 

export, and sale of goods made with sweatshop 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 ‘‘Decent Working Con5 ditions and Fair Competition Act’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find3 ings: 

4 (1) The violation of core labor standards, as de5 fined under the laws of the United States and the 

6 International Labor Organization, is widespread in 

7 factories that produce goods for sale in the United 

8 States. 

9 (2) Factories that violate core labor standards 

10 are commonly referred to as sweatshops. 

11 (3) Subjecting factory workers to sweatshop 

12 conditions that violate core labor standards is mor13 ally offensive to the American people both in their 

14 roles as consumers and as investors, and is degrad15 ing to workers forced to labor under these condi16 tions. 

17 (4) Workers have a right to be free of sweat18 shop working conditions. 

19 (5) Consumers have a right to know that the 

20 goods they purchase are not produced in sweatshops. 

21 (6) Businesses have a right to be free from 

22 competition with companies that use sweatshop 

23 labor. 

24 (7) Shareholders have a right to know that 

25 their investments are not supporting sweatshop 

26 labor. 
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1 (8) It is a deceptive trade practice and a form 

2 of unfair competition for a business to sell sweat3 shop goods. 

4 (9) Prohibiting the sale, manufacture, offer for 

5 sale, transportation, and distribution of sweatshop 

6 goods, regardless of the source of the goods, is con7 sistent with the international obligations of the 

8 United States because the prohibition applies equally 

9 to domestic and foreign products and avoids any dis10 crimination among foreign sources of competing 

11 products. 

12 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to— 

13 (1) prohibit the import, export, or sale of goods 

14 made in factories or workshops that violate core 

15 labor standards; and 

16 (2) prohibit the procurement of sweatshop 

17 goods by the United States Government. 

18 SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF CORE LABOR STANDARDS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—In this Act, the term ‘‘core labor 

20 standards’’, means— 

21 (1) the right of association; 

22 (2) the right to organize and bargain collec23 tively; 

24 (3) a prohibition on the use of any form of 

25 forced or compulsory labor; 
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1 (4) a minimum age for the employment of chil2 dren; and 

3 (5) acceptable conditions of work with respect 

4 to minimum wages, hours of work, and occupational 

5 safety and health. 

6 (b) ACCEPTABLE CONDITIONS.—For purposes of 

7 subsection (a)(5), acceptable conditions of work shall be 

8 determined by the laws, regulations, or competent author9 ity of the country where the labor is performed. 

10 TITLE I—TARIFF ACT OF 1930 

11 SEC. 101. IMPORTATION AND SALE OF SWEATSHOP GOODS 

12 PROHIBITED. 

13 Section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 

14 1307) is amended to read as follows: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 307. PROHIBITION OF IMPORT AND SALE OF CON16 VICT-MADE GOODS AND SWEATSHOP GOODS. 

17 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

18 ‘‘(1) CONVICT-MADE GOOD.—The term ‘convict19 made good’ means any good, ware, article, or mer20 chandise mined, produced, or manufactured wholly 

21 or in part in any foreign country by convict labor. 

22 ‘‘(2) SWEATSHOP GOOD.—The term ‘sweatshop 

23 good’ means any good, ware, article, or merchandise 

24 mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part 

25 in violation of core labor standards as defined in sec-
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1 tion 3 of the Decent Working Conditions and Fair 

2 Competition Act. 

3 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITIONS.—It is unlawful for any person 

4 to— 

5 ‘‘(1) import into the United States any convict6 made good; 

7 ‘‘(2) import into, or export from, the United 

8 States any sweatshop good; 

9 ‘‘(3) introduce into commerce, sell, trade, or ad10 vertise in commerce, offer to sell, or transport or 

11 distribute in commerce in the United States, any 

12 sweatshop good.’’. 

13 SEC. 102. WAIVER AUTHORITY. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President, for reasons of na15 tional interest, may recommend that the application of 

16 section 201 of this Act or section 307(b) (2) and (3) of 

17 the Tariff Act of 1930 be waived in connection with the 

18 goods of any country with respect to 1 or more of the 

19 principles and rights defined as a core labor standard in 

20 section 3 of this Act. Any such recommendation shall— 

21 (1) be transmitted to the House of Representa22 tives and the Senate setting forth the President’s 

23 reasons for the waiver; 
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1 (2) include, for each waiver recommendation, a 

2 determination that the waiver is necessary to protect 

3 the national interest of the United States; and 

4 (3) include, for each principle or right for which 

5 a waiver is recommended, an explanation of why the 

6 President recommends waiving application of that 

7 principle or right. 

8 (b) PERIOD OF WAIVER.—A waiver under this sec9 tion shall be effective for a 12-month period unless Con10 gress enacts a joint resolution described in subsection (c). 

11 (c) JOINT RESOLUTION REQUIREMENTS AND PROCE12 DURES.— 

13 (1) RESOLUTION DESCRIBED.—For purposes of 

14 this subsection, the term ‘‘resolution’’ means only a 

15 joint resolution of the two Houses of Congress, the 

16 matter after the resolving clause of which is as fol17 lows: ‘‘That the Congress does not approve the waiv18 er of section 201 of the Decent Working Conditions 

19 and Fair Competition Act or section 307(b) (2) and 

20 (3) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1307) rec21 ommended by the President to the Congress on 

22 lllllll with respect to the application of 

23 lllllll to the goods oflllllll.’’, 

24 with the first blank space being filled with the ap25 propriate date, the second blank space being filled 
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1 with the principle or right to be waived, and the 

2 third blank space being filled with the name of the 

3 country, if any, with respect to which the waiver of 

4 authority is disapproved. 

5 (2) APPLICATION OF PROCEDURAL PROVI6 SIONS.—The provisions of section 152 (b) through 

7 (f) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2192 (b) 

8 through (f)) shall apply to resolutions described in 

9 paragraph (1). 

10 (3) APPROVAL BY CONGRESS.—If Congress ap11 proves a joint resolution, Congress shall send the 

12 resolution to the President before the end of the 90- 

13 day period beginning on the date that Congress re14 ceives the waiver described in subsection (a). 

15 (4) EFFECT OF VETO.—If the President vetoes 

16 the joint resolution, the resolution is enacted into 

17 law if each House of Congress votes to override the 

18 veto on or before the later of the last day of the 90- 

19 day period referred to in paragraph (3) or the last 

20 day of the 15-day period, excluding any day de21 scribed in section 154(b) of the Trade Act of 1974 

22 (19 U.S.C. 2194(b)), beginning on the date the Con23 gress receives the veto message from the President. 

24 (5) INTRODUCTION.—A joint resolution to 

25 which this subsection applies may be introduced at 
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1 any time on or after the date the President trans2 mits to Congress the waiver described in subsection 

3 (a). 

4 (d) TERMINATION OR EXTENSION OF WAIVER.—A 

5 waiver with respect to the goods of any country terminates 

6 on the day after the waiver authority granted by this sub7 section ceases to be effective with respect to such country, 

8 unless an extension of the waiver authority is granted. The 

9 President may recommend an extension of the waiver au10 thority in the same manner as the original recommenda11 tion, except that the President may not recommend an ex12 tension later than the date that is 30 days before the waiv13 er authority expires. The President may, at any time, ter14 minate by Executive order any waiver under this section. 

15 TITLE II—FEDERAL TRADE 

16 COMMISSION 

17 SEC. 201. VIOLATION OF FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 

18 ACT. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—It is unlawful for any person to 

20 introduce into commerce, sell, trade, or advertise in com21 merce, offer to sell or transport or distribute in commerce 

22 any sweatshop good. 

23 (b) SWEATSHOP GOOD.—For purposes of this title, 

24 the term ‘‘sweatshop good’’ means any good, ware, article, 

25 or merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured wholly 
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1 or in part in violation of core labor standards, listed in 

2 section 3 of this Act. 

3 (c) ENFORCEMENT.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Trade Commis5 sion shall enforce the provisions of this section with 

6 respect to the prohibitions under subsection (a) as if 

7 the violation were an unfair or deceptive act or prac8 tice proscribed under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the 

9 Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 

10 57a(a)(1)(B)). 

11 (2) ACTIONS BY THE COMMISSION.—The Com12 mission shall prevent any person from violating this 

13 Act in the same manner, by the same means, and 

14 with the same jurisdiction, powers, and duties as 

15 though all applicable terms and provisions of the 

16 Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et 

17 seq.) were incorporated into and made a part of this 

18 title. Any person that violates the provisions of this 

19 title shall be subject to the penalties and entitled to 

20 the privileges and immunities provided in said Fed21 eral Trade Commission Act in the same manner, by 

22 the same means, and with the same jurisdiction, 

23 power, and duties as though all applicable terms and 

24 provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act 

25 were incorporated into and made a part of this title. 
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1 (3) INVESTIGATIONS.—Notwithstanding any 

2 other provision of law, the Federal Trade Commis3 sion shall investigate any complaint received from a 

4 worker alleging a violation of this title with respect 

5 to a good, ware, article, or merchandise produced by 

6 that worker. 

7 (4) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 6 months 

8 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Fed9 eral Trade Commission shall publish rules to carry 

10 out the provisions of this title. 

11 SEC. 202. PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION. 

12 (a) PRIVATE SUITS.—A person with standing to sue 

13 under subsection (c) may bring a civil action against any 

14 seller of goods, wares, articles, or merchandise on grounds 

15 of violation of section 201. 

16 (b) JURISDICTION.—The United States district 

17 courts shall have jurisdiction, without regard to the 

18 amount in controversy or the citizenship of the parties, 

19 to enforce this section. 

20 (c) STANDING TO SUE.—The followings persons have 

21 standing to sue under this section: 

22 (1) Competitors of the retailer of any good, 

23 ware, article, or merchandise sold in violation of sec24 tion 201. 
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1 (2) Investors of the retailer of any good, ware, 

2 article, or merchandise sold in violation of section 

3 201. 

4 (d) DAMAGES; INJUNCTIVE RELIEF; ATTORNEY

5 COSTS AND FEES.— 

6 (1) When a violation of section 201 is estab7 lished in any civil action arising under this section, 

8 the plaintiff shall be entitled to recover $10,000 per 

9 violation or the fair market value of the goods, 

10 whichever is greater. The court may increase the 

11 award of damages if the court finds that the defend12 ant willfully or knowingly violated section 201. 

13 (2) The plaintiff may sue for injunctive relief 

14 against threatened loss or damage due to a violation 

15 of section 201. 

16 (3) The court shall award the cost of the suit, 

17 including a reasonable attorney’s fee, to a prevailing 

18 plaintiff. 

19 (e) INTERAGENCY COOPERATION.—All Federal de20 partments and agencies shall cooperate with the Commis21 sioner of Customs and the Federal Trade Commission, to 

22 the extent practicable in the enforcement of this title. 

23 (f) LIST OF VIOLATORS; DISCLOSURE AND PUBLICA24 TION BY FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION.—On January 1 

25 and July 1 of each year, the Federal Trade Commission 
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1 shall publish in the Federal Register and post on an Inter2 net website the following information: 

3 (1) An alphabetical list of the name, address, 

4 and chief executive officer of each person that has, 

5 during the 2 years prior to publication, violated the 

6 provisions of this title, along with a summary de7 scription of each violation and the cumulative num8 ber of violations by each person on the list. 

9 (2) A detailed description of each violation that 

10 includes the following information: 

11 (A) The name, address, and chief executive 

12 officer of each violator. 

13 (B) The circumstances under which core 

14 labor standards, as defined in section 3 of this 

15 Act were violated in the course of the mining, 

16 production, or manufacturing of the goods in 

17 question. 

18 TITLE III—GOVERNMENT 

19 PROCUREMENT 

20 SEC. 301. GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT OF SWEATSHOP 

21 GOODS PROHIBITED. 

22 (a) AMENDMENT TO FEDERAL PROPERTY AND AD23 MINISTRATIVE SERVICES ACT OF 1949.—Title III of the 

24 Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 
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1 (41 U.S.C. 251 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

2 the following new section: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 318. PROHIBITION ON PROCUREMENT OF SWEAT4 SHOP GOODS. 

5 ‘‘(a) CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.—The head of 

6 an executive agency shall ensure that each covered con7 tract entered into by such official for the procurement of 

8 property includes a clause that requires the contractor— 

9 ‘‘(1) to certify to the contracting officer that 

10 the contractor has made a good faith effort to deter11 mine whether any product furnished under the con12 tract is a sweatshop good, and that, on the basis of 

13 those efforts, the contractor is unaware that any 

14 such product is a sweatshop good; and 

15 ‘‘(2) to cooperate fully in providing reasonable 

16 access to the contractor’s records, persons, or prem17 ises if requested by the contracting agency, the Di18 rectorate of Border and Transportation Security of 

19 the Department of Homeland Security, or the De20 partment of Justice for the purpose of determining 

21 whether any product furnished under the contract is 

22 a sweatshop good. 

23 ‘‘(b) INVESTIGATIONS.—Whenever a contracting offi24 cer of an executive agency has reason to believe that a 

25 product furnished under a covered contract is a sweatshop 
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1 good, the head of the executive agency shall refer the mat2 ter for investigation to the Inspector General of the execu3 tive agency and, as the head of the executive agency or 

4 the Inspector General determines appropriate, to the At5 torney General and the Under Secretary for Border and 

6 Transportation Security. 

7 ‘‘(c) REMEDIES.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The head of an executive 

9 agency may impose remedies as provided in this sub10 section if the head of the executive agency finds that 

11 the contractor— 

12 ‘‘(A) has furnished under a covered con13 tract a product that is a sweatshop good; 

14 ‘‘(B) has submitted a false certification 

15 under subsection (a)(1); or 

16 ‘‘(C) has failed to cooperate with an inves17 tigation under this section. 

18 ‘‘(2) TERMINATION OF CONTRACT.—The head 

19 of an executive agency may terminate a covered con20 tract on the basis of a finding of a violation that oc21 curs under paragraph (1) after the date the require22 ments of this section are implemented through the 

23 amendment of the Federal Acquisition Regulation 

24 under sections 6 and 25 of the Office of Federal 

25 Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 405 and 421). 
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1 ‘‘(3) DEBARMENT AND SUSPENSION.—The head 

2 of an executive agency may debar or suspend a con3 tractor from eligibility for Federal contracts on the 

4 basis of a finding that the contractor has committed 

5 a violation described in paragraph (1). The debar6 ment period may not exceed 3 years. 

7 ‘‘(4) INCLUSION ON LIST OF PARTIES EX8 CLUDED FROM FEDERAL PROCUREMENT AND NON9 PROCUREMENT PROGRAMS.—The Administrator of 

10 General Services shall include on the List of Parties 

11 Excluded from Federal Procurement and Non12 procurement Programs maintained by the Adminis13 trator under part 9 of the Federal Acquisition Regu14 lation each contractor that is debarred, suspended, 

15 proposed for debarment or suspension, or declared 

16 ineligible by the head of an executive agency on the 

17 basis that the contractor has committed a violation 

18 under paragraph (1). 

19 ‘‘(5) REMEDIES NOT EXCLUSIVE.—This section 

20 shall not be construed to limit the use of other rem21 edies available to the head of an executive agency or 

22 any other official of the Federal Government on the 

23 basis of a finding under paragraph (1). 

24 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
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1 ‘‘(1) COVERED CONTRACT.—The term ‘covered 

2 contract’ means a contract for a total amount in ex3 cess of the micro-purchase threshold, as that term is 

4 defined in section 32(f) of the Office of Federal Pro5 curement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 428(f)). 

6 ‘‘(2) SWEATSHOP GOOD.—The term ‘sweatshop 

7 good’ means all goods, wares, articles, and merchan8 dise mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in 

9 part in violation of core labor standards, as defined 

10 in section 3 of the Decent Working Conditions and 

11 Fair Competition Act.’’. 

12 (b) AMENDMENT TO TITLE 10, UNITED STATES

13 CODE.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 137 of title 10, 

15 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

16 end the following new section: 

17 ‘‘§ 2333. Prohibition on procurement of sweatshop 

18 goods 

19 ‘‘(a) CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.—The head of 

20 an agency shall ensure that each covered contract entered 

21 into by such official for the procurement of property in22 cludes a clause that requires the contractor— 

23 ‘‘(1) to certify to the contracting officer that 

24 the contractor has made a good faith effort to deter25 mine whether any product furnished under the con-
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1 tract is a sweatshop good, and that, on the basis of 

2 those efforts, the contractor is unaware that any 

3 such product is a sweatshop good; and 

4 ‘‘(2) to cooperate fully in providing reasonable 

5 access to the contractor’s records, persons, or prem6 ises if requested by the contracting agency, the Di7 rectorate of Border and Transportation Security of 

8 the Department of Homeland Security, or the De9 partment of Justice for the purpose of determining 

10 whether any product furnished under the contract is 

11 a sweatshop good. 

12 ‘‘(b) INVESTIGATIONS.—Whenever a contracting offi13 cer of an agency has reason to believe that a product fur14 nished under a covered contract is a sweatshop good, the 

15 head of the agency shall refer the matter for investigation 

16 to the Inspector General of the agency and, as the head 

17 of the agency or the Inspector General determines appro18 priate, to the Attorney General and the Under Secretary 

19 for Border and Transportation Security. 

20 ‘‘(c) REMEDIES.—(1) The head of an agency may im21 pose remedies as provided in this subsection if the head 

22 of the agency finds that the contractor— 

23 ‘‘(A) has furnished under a covered contract a 

24 product that is a sweatshop good; 
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1 ‘‘(B) has submitted a false certification under 

2 subsection (a)(1); or 

3 ‘‘(C) has failed to cooperate with an investiga4 tion under subsection (b). 

5 ‘‘(2) The head of an agency may terminate a covered 

6 contract on the basis of a finding of a violation that occurs 

7 under paragraph (1) after the date the requirements of 

8 this section are implemented through the amendment of 

9 the Federal Acquisition Regulation under sections 6 and 

10 25 of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 

11 U.S.C. 405 and 421). 

12 ‘‘(3) The head of an agency may debar or suspend 

13 a contractor from eligibility for Federal contracts on the 

14 basis of a finding that the contractor has committed a vio15 lation described in paragraph (1). The debarment period 

16 may not exceed 3 years. 

17 ‘‘(4) The Administrator of General Services shall in18 clude on the List of Parties Excluded from Federal Pro19 curement and Nonprocurement Programs maintained by 

20 the Administrator under part 9 of the Federal Acquisition 

21 Regulation each contractor that is debarred, suspended, 

22 proposed for debarment or suspension, or declared ineli23 gible by the head of an agency on the basis that the con24 tractor has committed a violation under paragraph (1). 
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1 ‘‘(5) This section shall not be construed to limit the 

2 use of other remedies available to the head of an agency 

3 or any other official of the Federal Government on the 

4 basis of a finding under paragraph (1). 

5 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

6 ‘‘(1) The term ‘covered contract’ means a con7 tract for a total amount in excess of the micro-pur8 chase threshold, as that term is defined in section 

9 32(f) of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy 

10 Act (41 U.S.C. 428(f)). 

11 ‘‘(2) The term ‘sweatshop good’ means all 

12 goods, wares, articles, and merchandise mined, pro13 duced, or manufactured wholly or in part in violation 

14 of core labor standards, as defined in section 3 of 

15 the Decent Working Conditions and Fair Competi16 tion Act.’’. 

17 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con18 tents at the beginning of such chapter is amended 

19 by adding at the end the following new item: 

‘‘2333. Prohibition on procurement of sweatshop goods.’’. 

20 (c) IMPLEMENTATION THROUGH THE FEDERAL AC21 QUISITION REGULATION.—Not later than 120 days after 

22 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Acquisi23 tion Regulatory Council shall amend the Federal Acquisi24 tion Regulation issued under sections 6 and 25 of the Of25 fice of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 405 
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1 and 421) to provide for the implementation of the require2 ments of section 318 of the Federal Property of Adminis3 trative Services Act of 1949 and section 2333 of title 10, 

4 United States Code, as added by subsections (a) and (b), 

5 respectively. 

6 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the re7 quirements of this section and of section 318 of the Fed8 eral Property of Administrative Services Act of 1949 and 

9 section 2333 of title 10, United States Code, as added by 

10 subsections (a) and (b), respectively, are implemented 

11 through the amendment of the Federal Acquisition Regu12 lation pursuant to subsection (c), the Administrator of 

13 General Services, with the assistance of other executive 

14 agencies, shall submit to the Office of Management and 

15 Budget a report on the actions taken under such sections. 

Æ