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Executive Order 13126

Presidential Seal

Executive Order 13126 [Text] [PDF] on the "Prohibition of Acquisition of Products Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor," was signed on June 12, 1999. The EO is intended to ensure that federal agencies enforce laws relating to forced or indentured child labor in the procurement process. It requires the Department of Labor, in consultation with the Departments of State and Homeland Security, to publish and maintain a list of products, by country of origin, which the three Departments have a reasonable basis to believe, might have been mined, produced or manufactured by forced or indentured child labor. Under the procurement regulations implementing the Executive Order, federal contractors who supply products on a list published by the Department of Labor must certify that they have made a good faith effort to determine whether forced or indentured child labor was used to produce the items listed.

On January 18, 2001, the Department of Labor published in the Federal Register the Procedural Guidelines for the "Maintenance of the List of Products Requiring Federal Contractor Certification as to Forced or Indentured Child Labor" [Text] [PDF]. Also published in the January 18 Federal Register was the GSA's Federal Acquisition Regulation Final Rule [Text] [PDF] to implement the Executive Order.

Current List of Products and Countries on EO 13126 List

The current list of products [Text] [PDF] was published in the January 18, 2001 Federal Register and includes the following:

  • Bamboo (Burma)
  • Beans (yellow, soya, and green beans) (Burma)
  • Bricks (hand-made) (Burma, Pakistan)
  • Chilies (Burma)
  • Corn (Burma)
  • Pineapples (Burma)
  • Rice (Burma)
  • Rubber (Burma)
  • Shrimp (aquaculture)(Burma)
  • Sugarcane (Burma)
  • Teak (Burma)

Initial Determination Proposing Updates to the EO 13126 List

On September 10, 2009 the Department of Labor released an initial determination proposing to update the EO 13126 list in accordance with the "Procedural Guidelines for the Maintenance of the List of Products Requiring Federal Contractor Certification as to Forced or Indentured Child Labor." The initial determination sets forth an updated list of products, by country of origin, which the Departments of Labor, State and Homeland Security, preliminarily believe might have been mined, produced, or manufactured by forced or indentured child labor. The initial determination contains a list of 21 countries and 29 products. On September 11, DOL published a Notice of Initial Determination Updating the List of Products Requiring Federal Contractor Certification as to Forced/Indentured Child Labor Pursuant to Executive Order 13126 [Text] [PDF] in the Federal Register officially requesting public comment on its initial determination for a period of 90 days. DOL will consider all public comments prior to publishing a final determination updating the list of products, made in consultation and cooperation with the Departments of State and Homeland Security. Until publication of the final determination, the current January 18, 2001 list remains valid.

Frequently Asked Questions

Public Submissions

On October 15, 2008, the Department of Labor released a notice in the Federal Register [Text] [PDF] requesting information from the public on the use of forced child labor in the production of bricks, coal, foundry products, chemicals, cotton, grape products, toys, and fireworks in China under Executive Order 13126. This request was made pursuant to a public submission accepted on October 1, 2007.

On May 10, 2004, the Department of Labor released a Federal Register Notice [Text] [PDF] notifying the public of its intent to continue monitoring the production of cocoa in Cote d'Ivoire, as well as requesting information regarding forced child labor in the cocoa industry in Cote d'Ivoire under Executive Order 13126. This request was made pursuant to a public submission accepted on March 20, 2001.

On May 12, 2003, USDOL published a Notice of Final Determination in the Federal Register [Text] [PDF] regarding forced child labor in the firecracker industry in China. The Department conducted a review pursuant to a public submission accepted on June 29, 2001.