DOL Updates List of Forced Labor Goods, Adding Pepper, Silk Cocoons, Potatoes; Costa Rica and Sudan

The Labor Department on Sept. 30 updated its List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor (here). The list now includes 139 goods from 75 countries, with the 2016 edition adding three new goods (pepper from Vietnam, potatoes from Lebanon, and silk cocoons from Uzbekistan) and two new countries (Costa Rica for cattle and coffee, and Sudan for gold), DOL said (here). The list does not directly affect CBP decisions to issue withhold release orders (WROs) banning imports of goods made from forced, child or prison labor, though CBP has said it may use the list for research and pointed to DOL reports as resources for importers to avoid being affected by the company-specific CBP forced labor import bans (see 1604220017). DOL also issued on Sept. 30 its 2015 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor report (here), and is seeking comments on that report, as well as the forced labor goods list and a 2014 list of products produced by child labor, it said (here).