The Department of Labor is making or considering changes to two federal forced labor lists.
EO 13126 List
Executive Order 13126 prohibits federal agencies from acquiring goods produced by forced or indentured child labor, and the DOL maintains a list of products that it has a reasonable basis to believe might have been mined, produced, or manufactured with such labor. Federal contractors who supply the products on this list must certify that they have made a good faith effort to determine whether forced or indentured child labor was used to mine, produce, or manufacture them and that, on the basis of those efforts, they are unaware of any such use.
The Department of Labor has now issued a final determination to remove garments from Vietnam (added to this list in 2012) and shrimp from Thailand (added in 2009) from this list after determining that there is no longer a reasonable basis to believe that forced or indentured child labor is used in the production of these products.
The DOL is also inviting comments through Dec. 16 on (1) a proposal to add garments from Bangladesh to this list and (2) the likelihood of child and/or forced child labor in the production of shrimp from India (which could potentially be added to the list).
TVPRA List
The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2013 requires the DOL to maintain a list of foreign-made goods it has reason to believe are produced by forced and/or child labor in violation of international standards. The DOL is also required to take steps to ensure that the goods on this list are not imported into the U.S. if they are made with forced or child labor, including working with producers to help set standards to eliminate the use of such labor.
The DOL has updated the TVPRA list by removing blueberries from Argentina, salt from Cambodia, shrimp from Thailand, and fluorspar from Mongolia and adding 72 items across numerous sectors and countries, including 37 new goods not previously identified as having labor exploitation as well as four new countries (see pages 17-19 in this report for a full list of goods added).
With these changes, the TVPRA list – which includes both goods produced by child or forced labor as well as goods made with inputs produced with such labor – now comprises 204 goods from 82 countries and areas.
Further, the DOL is inviting comments through Dec. 16 on (1) child and/or forced labor in gold supply chain inputs in the production of downstream goods in the United Arab Emirates, including gold originating from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Mali, Sudan, Zimbabwe, and any other relevant countries, and (2) efforts to address child and/or forced labor in global supply chains in Africa and improve traceability into the UAE and other markets.
Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg offers a comprehensive suite of services to help companies address child and forced labor concerns around the world, including supply chain reviews, due diligence strategies, and proactive remediation. ST&R also maintains a frequently updated web page offering a broad range of information on forced labor-related efforts in the U.S. and around the world. For more information, please contact ST&R at supplychainvisibility@strtrade.com.
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