[Federal Register: January 14, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 10)]
[Notices]
[Page 2658-2659]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr14ja05-87]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Office of the Secretary
Bureau of International Labor Affairs; Request for Information
Concerning Labor Rights in the United Arab Emirates and Its Laws
Governing Exploitative Child Labor
AGENCIES: Office of the Secretary, Labor; Office of the United States
Trade Representative and Department of State.
ACTION: Request for comments from the public.
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SUMMARY: This notice is a request for comments from the public to
assist the Secretary of Labor, the United States Trade Representative,
and the Secretary of State in preparing reports regarding labor rights
in the United Arab Emirates and describing the extent to which it has
in effect laws governing exploitative child labor. The Trade Act of
2002 requires reports on these issues and others when the President
intends to use trade promotion authority procedures in connection with
legislation approving and implementing a trade agreement. The President
assigned the functions of preparing reports regarding labor rights and
the existence of laws governing exploitative child labor to the
Secretary of Labor, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the
United States Trade Representative. The Secretary of Labor further
assigned these functions to the Secretary of State and the United
States Trade Representative, to be carried out by the Secretary of
Labor, the Secretary of State and the United States Trade
Representative.
[[Page 2659]]
DATES: Public comments should be received no later than 5 p.m. February
28, 2005.
ADDRESSES: Persons submitting comments are strongly advised to make
such submissions by electronic mail to the following address:
FRFTAUAE@dol.gov. Submissions by facsimile may be sent to: Betsy White,
Office of International Economic Affairs, Bureau of International Labor
Affairs, U.S. Department of Labor, at (202) 693-4851.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For procedural questions regarding the
submissions, please contact Betsy White, Office of International
Economic Affairs, Bureau of International Labor Affairs, U.S.
Department of Labor, at (202) 693-4919, facsimile (202) 693-4851. These
are not toll-free numbers. Substantive questions concerning the labor
rights report and/or the report on the United Arab Emirates' laws
governing exploitative child labor should be addressed to Jorge Perez-
Lopez, Office of International Economic Affairs, Bureau of
International Labor Affairs, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution
Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20210, telephone (202) 693-4883, facsimile
(202) 693-4851.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On November 15, 2004, in accordance with section 2104(a)(1) of the
Trade Act of 2002, the United States Trade Representative (USTR)
notified the Congress of the President's intent to enter into free
trade negotiations with the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The
notification letters to the Senate and the House of Representatives can
be found on the USTR Web site at http://www.ustr.gov/assets/Document_Library/Letters_to_Congress/2004/asset_upload_file848_6741.pdf
and
http://www.ustr.gov/assets/Document_Library/Letters_to_Congress/2004/asset_upload_file847_6740.pdf
, respectively. In December, USTR
announced its intention to hold a public hearing on January 12, 2005,
for the interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) to receive
written comments and oral testimony from the public to assist USTR in
formulating positions and proposals with respect to all aspects of the
negotiations (69 FR 70500) (Dec. 6, 2004). USTR intends to launch the
negotiations in March 2005.
The Trade Act of 2002 (Pub.L. 107-210) (the Trade Act) sets forth
special procedures (Trade Promotion Authority) for approval and
implementation of Agreements subject to meeting conditions and
requirements in Division B of the Trade Act, ``Bipartisan Trade
Promotion Authority.'' Section 2102(a)-(c) of the Trade Act includes
negotiating objectives and a listing of priorities for the President to
promote in order to ``address and maintain United States
competitiveness in the global economy'' in pursuing future trade
agreements. The President assigned several of the functions in section
2102(c) to the Secretary of Labor. (E.O. 13277). These include the
functions set forth in section 2102(c)(8), which requires that the
President ``in connection with any trade negotiations entered into
under this Act, submit to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House
of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate a
meaningful labor rights report of the country, or countries, with
respect to which the President is negotiating,'' and the function in
section 2102(c)(9), which requires that the President ``with respect to
any trade agreement which the President seeks to implement under trade
authorities procedures, submit to the Congress a report describing the
extent to which the country or countries that are parties to the
agreement have in effect laws governing exploitative child labor.''
II. Information Sought
Interested parties are invited to submit written information as
specified below to be taken into account in drafting the required
reports. Materials submitted should be confined to the specific topics
of the reports. In particular, agencies are seeking written submissions
on the following topics:
1. Labor laws of the UAE, including laws governing exploitative
child labor, and that country's implementation and enforcement of its
labor laws and regulations;
2. The situation in the UAE with respect to core labor standards;
3. Steps taken by the UAE to comply with International Labor
Organization Convention No. 182 on the worst forms of child labor; and
4. The nature and extent, if any, of exploitative child labor in
the UAE.
Section 2113(6) of the Trade Act defines ``core labor standards''
as:
(A) The right of association;
(B) The right to organize and bargain collectively;
(C) A prohibition on the use of any form of forced or compulsory
labor;
(D) A minimum age for the employment of children; and
(E) Acceptable conditions of work with respect to minimum wages,
hours of work, and occupational safety and health.
III. Requirements for Submissions
This document is a request for facts or opinions submitted in
response to a general solicitation of comments from the public. To
ensure prompt and full consideration of submissions, we strongly
recommend that interested persons submit comments by electronic mail to
the following e-mail address: FRFTAUAE@dol.gov. Persons making
submissions by e-mail should use the following subject line: ``UAE:
Labor Rights and Child Labor Reports.'' Documents should be submitted
in WordPerfect, MSWord, or text (.TXT) format. Supporting documentation
submitted as spreadsheets is acceptable in Quattro Pro or Excel format.
Persons who make submissions by e-mail should not provide separate
cover letters; information that might appear in a cover letter should
be included in the submission itself. Similarly, to the extent
possible, any attachments to the submission should be included in the
same file as the submission itself, and not as separate files. Written
comments will be placed in a file open to public inspection at the
Department of Labor, Room S-5317, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW.,
Washington, DC 20210, and in the USTR Reading Room in Room 3 of the
annex of the Office of the USTR, 1724 F Street, NW., Washington, DC
20508. An appointment to review the file at the Department of Labor may
be made by contacting Betsy White at (202) 693-4919. An appointment to
review the file at USTR may be made by calling (202) 395-6186. The USTR
Reading Room is generally open to the public from 10 a.m.-12 noon and
1-4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Appointments must be scheduled at
least 48 hours in advance.
Signed at Washington, DC, this 10th of January 2005.
Arnold Levine,
Deputy Under Secretary for International Affairs.
[FR Doc. 05-804 Filed 1-13-05; 8:45 am]
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