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Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act

On January 10, 2006, the President signed into law the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) of 2005. Section 105(b)(1) of Act directed the Secretary of Labor, acting through the Bureau of International Labor Affairs, to "carry out additional activities to monitor and combat forced labor and child labor in foreign countries." Section 105(b)(2) listed these activities as:

(A) Monitor the use of forced labor and child labor in violation of international standards;

(B) Provide information regarding trafficking in persons for the purpose of forced labor to the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking of the Department of State for inclusion in [the] trafficking in persons report required by Section 110(b) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7107(b));

(C) Develop and make available to the public a list of goods from countries that the Bureau of International Labor Affairs has reason to believe are produced by forced labor or child labor in violation of international standards;

(D) Work with persons who are involved in the production of goods on the list described in subparagraph (C) to create a standard set of practices that will reduce the likelihood that such persons will produce goods using the labor described in such subparagraph; and

(E) Consult with other departments and agencies of the United States Government to reduce forced and child labor internationally and ensure that products made by forced labor and child labor in violation of international standards are not imported into the United States.

On December 23, 2008, a new reauthorization of the legislation came into force, which required that ILAB publish an initial list of goods pursuant to section (C) and report to Congress on its implementation of TVPRA mandates on or before January 15, 2010.

List of Goods and Countries

On September 26, 2012, ILAB released a third update to the initial List. The third update adds 4 new goods (baked goods, beef, fish, and thread/yarn) and 3 new countries (South Sudan, Suriname, and Vietnam) to the List, for a total of 134 goods from 74 countries.

On October 3, 2011, ILAB released a second update to the initial List. The second update adds 2 new goods from 1 new country to the List, for a total of 130 goods from 71 countries.

On December 15, 2010, ILAB released its first update to the initial List. The update adds 6 new goods and 12 new countries to the List, for totals of 128 goods from 70 countries.

On September 10, 2009, ILAB released its initial "list of goods from countries" (List), pursuant to Section 105(b)(2)(C) of the TVPRA of 2005. Included in the initial List were 122 goods from 58 countries that ILAB has reason to believe are produced by forced labor, child labor or both, in violation of international standards. The report includes a bibliography of the sources used to make determinations about each good on the List.

The countries on the List span every region of the world. The most common agricultural goods listed are cotton, sugarcane, coffee, cattle, rice, fish and cocoa. In the manufacturing sector, bricks, garments, carpets, and footwear appear most frequently; and in mined or quarried goods, diamonds, coal and gold. The primary purpose of the List is to raise public awareness about the incidence of child labor and forced labor in the production of goods in the countries listed, and, in turn, to promote efforts to eliminate such practices.

Procedural Guidelines

On October 1, 2007, OCFT published a Federal Register Notice [Text] [PDF] containing proposed Procedural Guidelines for the development and maintenance of the List of goods from countries produced by child labor or forced labor in violation of international standards. ILAB received nine public comments on the proposed Procedural Guidelines. These comments and ILAB's responses, along with the final Procedural Guidelines, were published in a Federal Register Notice on December 27, 2007 [Text] [PDF].

Public Hearing

On May 28, 2008, ILAB held a public hearing to collect information on forced labor and child labor in the production of goods worldwide. For background information on this hearing, please see ILAB's Federal Register Notice published April 23, 2008 [Text] [PDF]. The official record of the hearing includes the agenda with witness statements, the full transcript of the May 28, 2008 proceedings, witness responses to follow-up questions from the hearing panel, and other statements and evidence received from the public.

Public Submissions

ILAB accepts public submissions regarding the use of child labor and forced labor in the production of goods in foreign countries on an ongoing basis and reviews them as they are received. All public submissions received after the publication of the initial List were carefully considered for the 2011 update. Submissions will continue to be taken into account as ILAB works to release periodic updates to the List.

Submissions are welcome at any time. To submit information, please send an email to ILAB-TVPRA@dol.gov; fax to 202-693-4830; or mail to ILAB, U.S. Department of Labor, c/o OCFT Research and Policy Unit, 200 Constitution Ave. NW, S-5317, Washington, DC 20210.

Standard Set of Practices

To assist in expanding the knowledge base on good practices currently in use, ILAB has funded research contracts and published a "Request for Information on Business Practices to Reduce the Likelihood of Child Labor or Forced Labor in the Production of Goods" in the Federal Register [PDF] on April 15, 2010. ILAB is in the process of developing a publication bringing together good practices currently in use by businesses, multi-stakeholder groups and other organizations, and aims to publish it in late 2012 or early 2013.

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