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 204 goods from 82 countries and areas, as of September 5, 2024.

The Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2018 directs that the List include, "to the extent practicable, goods that are produced with inputs that are produced with forced labor or child labor."

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.

Previous TVPRA List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor

2022

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.

The countries on the List span every region of the world. The most common agricultural goods listed are sugarcane, cotton, coffee, tobacco, cattle, rice, and fish. In the manufacturing sector, bricks, garments, textiles, footwear, carpets, and fireworks appear most frequently. In mined or quarried goods, gold, coal and diamonds are most common.

ILAB published the initial TVPRA List in 2009 and updated it annually through 2014, following a set of procedural guidelines that were the product of an intensive public consultation process. ILAB now updates and publishes the List every other year, pursuant to changes in the law.

Procedural Guidelines

On January 25, 2024, ILAB's Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking published 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.

DOL's mission is to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States. This DOL mission is carried out by a variety of sub-agencies and offices (DOL agencies) covering domestic and international policy engagements, workforce development, enforcement, statistics, and benefits. DOL has a responsibility to protect the integrity of scientific information that is produced, communicated, and used across DOL agencies to better carry out its mission. ILAB is committed to using the highest possible scientific integrity and quality standards and practices to conduct our critical work. Scientific integrity is the adherence to professional practices, ethical behavior, and the principles of honesty and objectivity when conducting, managing, using the results of, and communicating about science and scientific activities. Inclusivity, transparency, and protection from inappropriate influence are hallmarks of scientific integrity.

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Country/Area Good Exploitation Type
Korea, North
  Textiles
Forced Labor
Korea, North
  Gold
Forced Labor
Korea, South
  Indium

ILAB has reason to believe that indium produced in South Korea is produced with an input produced with child labor, specifically zinc mined in Bolivia. Zinc from Bolivia was added to ILAB’s List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor in 2010 for child labor. Boys as young as age 13 commonly work in underground mines in Potosi and Oruro, where they are subjected to hazardous working conditions including narrow tunnels, heavy machinery, extreme temperatures, and exposure to dust and chemicals without ventilation. These conditions are widely found in the cooperatives sector, which produces 18% of Bolivia’s zinc. Zinc ore in Bolivia contains some of the world’s richest concentrations of indium, but workers are not compensated for the indium found in the zinc that they mine. Zinc concentrate from multiple sources is often mixed together, blending responsibly mined zinc with zinc mined with child labor, and subsequently exported. In 2022, South Korea imported over $385 million in zinc concentrate from Bolivia, representing 16.3% of its zinc concentrate imports, and some of these imports connected to child labor in the cooperatives sector in Bolivia were used to produce indium. South Korea is the world’s second-largest producer of indium, producing 22.2% of the global supply in 2022. This research suggests that further worldwide downstream products of zinc and indium, such as conductive glass, touchscreen devices, flatscreen devices, televisions, phones, tablets, semiconductors, solar panels, indium-tin oxide, and LEDs may be produced with an input produced with child labor.

 Inputs Produced with Child Labor
Kyrgyz Republic
  Cotton
Child Labor
Kyrgyz Republic
  Tobacco
Child Labor
Lebanon
  Potatoes

There are reports that children ages 7 to 17 harvest potatoes in Lebanon. Most children are Syrian refugees who live and work in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. Based on information from international humanitarian organizations, thousands of children are engaged in child labor in the cultivation and harvesting of potatoes. Many of these children work long hours carrying heavy loads, are exposed to extreme temperatures, and lack access to potable water and toilet facilities. Some are beaten by their employers if they do not behave as expected or work slower than required. Many of these children do not attend school. 

Arabic translation

 Child Labor
Lebanon
  Tobacco
Child Labor
Lesotho
  Cattle
Child Labor
Liberia
  Diamonds
Child Labor
Liberia
  Rubber
Child Labor
Showing 291 - 300 of 527 results

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Further Resources

Previous TVPRA List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor


 

Public Comments & Submissions

ILAB accepts public submissions for the TVPRA List on an ongoing basis, and reviews them as they are received. Submissions will continue to be taken into account as ILAB works to release periodic updates to the List. 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-5315, Washington, DC 20210. View the list of submissions.

The List in Numbers

The List in Numbers

What You Can Do

What Can You Do to Help Address Child Labor and Forced Labor?