Trade and Development Act (TDA)

LAW DETAILS

SUMMARY OR KEY PROVISION OF THE LAW

The TDA established a new eligibility criterion requiring that countries make efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labor for receipt of trade benefits under the Generalized System of Preferences program, the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act, the U.S.-Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act, and the Andean Trade Preference Act/Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act.

The TDA requires the Secretary of Labor to issue annual findings on beneficiary country initiatives to implement their international commitments to eliminate the worst forms of child labor. As a result of this requirement, the Department of Labor has published the Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor report annually since 2002. The report covers approximately 140 countries and territories and provides information on the worst forms of child labor in goods and services, as well as information on country efforts, including laws, enforcement, policies and programs. The 2011 report introduced a new tool to assess government action to advance efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labor.

List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor

The Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) maintains a list of goods and their source countries which it has reason to believe are produced by child labor or forced labor in violation of international standards, as required under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) of 2005 and subsequent reauthorizations. The List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor comprises 159 goods from 78 countries and areas, as of September 28, 2022.

ILAB maintains the List primarily to raise public awareness about forced labor and child labor around the world and to promote efforts to combat them; it is not intended to be punitive, but rather to serve as a catalyst for more strategic and focused coordination and collaboration among those working to address these problems.

Publication of the List has resulted in new opportunities for ILAB to engage with foreign governments to combat forced labor and child labor. It is also a valuable resource for researchers, advocacy organizations and companies wishing to carry out risk assessments and engage in due diligence on labor rights in their supply chains.

LINK TO FULL REPORT

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods

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