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104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4307

To prohibit the importation of soccer balls manufactured or assembled with

child labor.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SEPTEMBER 28, 1996

Mr. KENNEDY of Massachusetts (for himself, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr.

BROWN of California, Mr. MORAN, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. EVANS, and Mr.

FRANK of Massachusetts) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the

Committee on 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 prohibit the importation of soccer balls manufactured

or assembled with child labor.

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 ‘‘Forcing Out Underage

5 Labor Act of 1996’’.
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1 SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON IMPORTATION OF SOCCER BALLS

2 MANUFACTURED OR ASSEMBLED WITH

3 CHILD LABOR.

4 (a) IDENTIFICATION OF COUNTRIES.—The Secretary

5 of Labor shall identify those countries in which soccer

6 balls are manufactured or assembled, in whole or in part,

7 with the use of child labor.

8 (b) PROHIBITION ON IMPORTS.—

9 (1) PROHIBITION.—The Secretary of the Treas10 ury shall prohibit the entry of any soccer balls man11 ufactured or assembled, in whole or in part, in a

12 country identified by the Secretary of Labor under

13 subsection (a). For purposes of this subsection and

14 subsection (a), the term ‘‘assembled’’ includes, but is

15 not limited to, stitching.

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

17 apply to the entry of any article for which a certifi18 cation that meets the requirements of subsection (c)

19 is provided and the article, or the packaging in

20 which it is offered for sale, contains, in accordance

21 with regulations prescribed by the Secretary of

22 Labor, a label stating that the article is not a prod23 uct of child labor.

24 (c) CERTIFICATION THAT ARTICLE IS NOT A PROD25 UCT OF CHILD LABOR.—
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1 (1) FORM AND CONTENT.—The Secretary of

2 the Treasury shall prescribe the form and content of

3 documentation, for submission in connection with

4 the entry of an article, that satisfies the Secretary

5 that the exporter of the article to the United States,

6 and the importer of the article into the customs ter7 ritory of the United States, have undertaken reason8 able steps to ensure that the article is not a product

9 of child labor.

10 (2) REASONABLE STEPS.—For purposes of

11 paragraph (1), ‘‘reasonable steps’’ includes—

12 (A) in the case of the exporter of an arti13 cle—

14 (i) having entered into a contract with

15 an organization described in paragraph (4)

16 in the country concerned for allowing in17 spections for the purpose of certifying both

18 that the article is not a product of child

19 labor, and that a label, protected under the

20 copyright or trademark laws of that coun21 try, that contains such certification is af22 fixed to the article; and

23 (ii) having affixed to the article a

24 label described in clause (i); and
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1 (B) in the case of the importer of an arti2 cle into the customs territory of the United

3 States, having required the certification and

4 label described in subparagraph (A) in the

5 agreement setting forth the terms and condi6 tions of the acquisition or provision of the im7 ported article.

8 (3) WRITTEN EVIDENCE.—The documentation

9 required by the Secretary under paragraph (1) shall

10 include written evidence that the reasonable steps

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

12 (4) CERTIFYING ORGANIZATIONS.—The Sec13 retary of the Treasury shall compile and maintain a

14 list of independent professional, internationally cred15 ible organizations, in foreign countries, that have

16 been established for the purpose of conducting in17 spections, certifying, and labeling that articles to be

18 exported from those countries are not products of

19 child labor. Each such organization may consist of,

20 but not be limited to, representatives of nongovern21 mental child welfare and human rights organiza22 tions, manufacturers, exporters, independent trade

23 unions, national governments, and neutral inter24 national organizations.
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1 SEC. 3. PENALTIES.

2 (a) UNLAWFUL ACTS.—It is unlawful—

3 (1) to attempt to enter any soccer ball if the

4 entry is prohibited under section 2(b)(1); or

5 (2) to violate any regulation prescribed under

6 section 4.

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

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

9 penalty of not to exceed $25,000.

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

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

12 intentionally commits any unlawful act set forth in sub13 section (a) is, upon conviction, liable for a fine of not less

14 than $10,000 and not more than $35,000, or imprison15 ment for not more than 1 year, or both.

16 (d) CONSTRUCTION.—The violations set forth in sub17 section (a) shall be treated as violations of the customs

18 laws for purposes of applying the enforcement provisions

19 of the Tariff Act of 1930, including—

20 (1) the search, seizure, and forfeiture provi21 sions;

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

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

24 (3) section 619 (relating to compensation to in25 formers).
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1 SEC. 4. REGULATIONS.

2 The Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of the

3 Treasury shall issue such regulations as are necessary to

4 carry out this Act.

5 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

6 As used in this Act:

7 (1) CHILD LABOR.—The term ‘‘child labor’’

8 means the performance of services in exchange for

9 remuneration (without regard to whom paid), sub10 sistence, goods, or services, or any combination

11 thereof, or under circumstances tantamount to invol12 untary servitude—

13 (A) by persons who have not attained the

14 minimum age, except for—

15 (i) light work by persons no more

16 than 2 years younger than the minimum

17 age that is not likely to harm their health

18 or development and which does not preju19 dice their attendance at school, their par20 ticipation in vocational orientation or

21 training programs approved by the com22 petent authority in the country concerned,

23 or their capacity to benefit from the in24 struction received,

25 (ii) work on family and small-scale ag26 ricultural holdings which produce for local
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1 consumption and do not regularly employ

2 hired workers,

3 (iii) work done by persons at least 14

4 years of age in schools or other training in5 stitutions for general, vocational, or tech6 nical education,

7 (iv) work done by persons at least 14

8 years of age as an integral part of a pro9 gram of education, training, or occupa10 tional guidance carried out in accordance

11 with conditions prescribed by the com12 petent authority in the country concerned,

13 and

14 (v) participation in artistic perform15 ances pursuant to permits granted in indi16 vidual cases by the competent authority in

17 the country concerned; and

18 (B) by persons under the age of 18 if such

19 services would likely jeopardize the health, safe20 ty, or moral character of a young person, except

21 for the performance of such services by individ22 uals at least 16 years of age where—

23 (i) the country concerned has ex24 pressly authorized such employment by na25 tional laws or regulation;
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1 (ii) the health, safety, and morals of

2 the individuals involved are fully protected;

3 and

4 (iii) the individuals involved have re5 ceived adequate specific instruction or vo6 cational training in the relevant branch of

7 activity.

8 (2) MINIMUM AGE.—The term ‘‘minimum age’’

9 means the age at which children complete compul10 sory schooling under the national laws of the coun11 try concerned, or the age of 15, whichever is older,

12 except that when a country whose economy and edu13 cational facilities are insufficiently developed has

14 specified, pursuant to an international agreement, a

15 minimum age of 14 years for a period of limited and

16 specifically identified duration, the term ‘‘minimum

17 age’’ means the age of 14 years during that period

18 with respect to that country.

19 (3) PRODUCT OF CHILD LABOR.—An article

20 shall be treated as being manufactured or assembled

21 with the use of child labor if the article—

22 (A) was fabricated, assembled, or proc23 essed, in whole or part, or

24 (B) contains any part that was fabricated,

25 assembled, or processed, in whole or in part,
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1 with child labor.

2 (4) ENTRY.—The term ‘‘entry’’ means entry, or

3 withdrawal from warehouse for consumption, in the

4 customs territory of the United States.

5 SEC. 6. UNITED STATES SUPPORT FOR DEVELOPMENTAL

6 ALTERNATIVES FOR UNDERAGE CHILD

7 WORKERS.

8 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Presi9 dent the sum of—

10 (1) $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1997

11 through 2000 for a United States contribution to

12 the International Labor Organization for the activi13 ties of the International Program on the Elimination

14 of Child Labor; and

15 (2) $100,000 for fiscal year 1997 for a United

16 States contribution to the United Nations Commis17 sion on Human Rights for those activities relating to

18 bonded child labor that are carried out by the Sub19 committee and Working Group on Contemporary

20 Forms of Slavery.

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