Bureau of International Labor Affairs; Request for Information
Concerning Labor Rights in Bahrain and Its Laws Governing Exploitative
Child Labor
[11/03/2003]
Volume 68, Number 212, Page 62328-62329
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Office of the Secretary
Bureau of International Labor Affairs; Request for Information
Concerning Labor Rights in Bahrain 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 public comments.
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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 Bahrain 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.
DATES: Public comments should be received no later than 5 p.m. December
18, 2003.
ADDRESSES: Persons submitting comments are strongly advised to make
such submissions by electronic mail to the following address: FRFTABahrain@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 Bahrain's 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 August 4, 2003, 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 initiate a free
trade agreement with
[[Page 62329]]
Bahrain. The notification letters to the Congress can be found on the
USTR Web site at http://www.ustr.gov/new/fta/Bahrain/2003-08-04-notification-house.pdf and http://www.ustr.gov/new/fta/Bahrain/2003-08-
8-">http://www.ustr.gov/new/fta/Bahrain/2003-08_08-
Staff Committee (TPSC) has invited the public to provide written
comments and/or oral testimony at a public hearing to be conducted on
November 5, 2003 to assist USTR in formulating positions and proposals
with respect to all aspects of the negotiations (68 FR 51164) (Aug. 25,
2003). It is intended that negotiations will be launched in January
2004.
The FTA is part of the President's initiative on the creation of a
Middle East Free Trade Area. By moving from unilateral trade
preferences to a reciprocal trade agreement, the FTA will seek to
eliminate duties and unjustified barriers to trade in both U.S.- and
Bahrain-origin goods and also address trade in services, trade in
agricultural products, investment, trade-related aspects of
intellectual property rights, government procurement, trade-related
environmental and labor matters, and other issues. The FTA is expected
to contribute to stronger economies, the rule of law, sustainable
development, and more accountable institutions of governance,
complementing ongoing domestic, bilateral, and multilateral efforts in
the region.
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 Bahrain, including laws governing exploitative
child labor, and that country's implementation and enforcement of its
labor laws and regulations;
2. The situation in Bahrain with respect to core labor standards;
3. Steps taken by Bahrain 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
Bahrain. 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: FRFTABahrain@dol.gov. Persons making
submissions by e-mail should use the following subject line: ``Bahrain:
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 27th day of October 2003.
Arnold Levine,
Deputy Under Secretary for International Affairs.
[FR Doc. 03-27568 Filed 10-31-03; 8:45 am]
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