U.S. Dept. of State - IIP: The United States and China

Text: Lawmakers Urge Customs, Labor to Check Chinese Products
(Reps. Pelosi, Miller concerned about use of child labor)

Almost a week before Americans will start using fireworks to celebrate the July 4th holiday, two lawmakers joined with Chinese human rights activist Harry Wu to urge the Department of Labor and the U.S. Customs Service to investigate whether Chinese fireworks and other goods imported into the United States are made with forced child labor.

U.S. law prohibits the importation of goods made with forced or indentured child labor, a June 26 news release from the office of Representative George Miller (Democrat from California) notes.

Rep. Miller, the senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (Democrat from California), the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, were joined by activist Harry Wu of the Laogai Research Foundation at a news conference in Washington.

In calling for the investigation, the lawmakers cited the incident in China in March where an explosion in a school building killed 37 children "while they were forced to make firecrackers."

More than 90 percent of fireworks and firecrackers imported into the United States come from China, according to the news release.

"We are calling on the U.S. Customs Service and the Department of Labor to launch an investigation to determine whether firecrackers and other goods made with forced child labor in China are being imported into the United States in violation of U.S. law and to halt the importation of any Chinese goods made with forced child labor," Miller said.

"America [cannot] in good conscience celebrate its own freedom every 4th of July with products that might be made by denying Chinese school children their own freedom," he added.

Following is the text of the June 26 news release from the office of Representative George Miller (Democrat of California):

Representatives Miller and Pelosi Call on U.S. Customs, Department of Labor
to Investigate Fireworks and Other Chinese Products That Might Be Made With Forced Child Labor

Chinese Human Rights Activist Harry Wu Joins Call For Investigation

Tuesday, June 26, 2001

Congressman George Miller joined by Chinese human rights activist Harry Wu at a press conference Tuesday at the U.S. capitol, called on the Department of Labor and the U.S. Customs Department to investigate the possible use of forced child labor for making firecrackers in China.

WASHINGTON -- Two Members of Congress and a leading Chinese human rights activist are calling on the U.S. Customs Service and the Department of Labor to investigate whether fireworks and other Chinese goods imported into the United States are made with forced child labor. U.S. law prohibits the importation of goods made with forced or indentured child labor.

Congressman George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, and Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, were joined by activist Harry Wu of the Laogai Research Foundation in calling for the investigation following reports that 37 children were killed in a fiery explosion at a Chinese school in March while they were forced to make firecrackers. More than 90 percent of fireworks and firecrackers imported into the United States come from China.

Both Chinese and international news organizations have reported that an increasing amount of goods are produced in Chinese schools and some news accounts have quoted parents and local officials who have complained that children are forced to make goods against their will. In addition, Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji acknowledged to reporters that children had been forced to make firecrackers and pledged to stop such practices.

"America [cannot] in good conscience celebrate its own freedom every 4th of July with products that might be made by denying Chinese school children their own freedom. As we celebrate next week, let us know that our own government is taking the necessary steps to ensure that future imported goods from China, including fireworks, are not made through the forced exploitation of children."

The Tariff Act of 1930 prohibits the importation of goods made in part or in whole with forced or indentured labor, and Congress clarified in 1998 that this prohibition includes forced or indentured child labor.

In addition, Executive Order No. 13126, signed by President Clinton, prohibits federal agencies from purchasing products made with forced or indentured child labor. The Department of Labor maintains a list of products that are banned as a result of this executive order. There are currently 11 products listed, including 10 from Burma and one from Pakistan.

The official Chinese media outlet New China News Agency reported in 1996 that 710,00 primary and high schools in China -- about 93 percent of all schools nationwide -- had set up cottage industries to raise school revenues. News accounts suggest that the government encouraged the use of schools for production when it exempted school businesses from taxation.

Miller, who called for the investigation in letters he sent Tuesday to Labor Secretary Elaine Chao and Acting Customs Commissioner Charles Winwood, said the number of Chinese schools involved in manufacturing fireworks and other products should be alarming to U.S. officials.

"The entire world was shocked by reports that on March 6, 2001, 37 third- and fourth-graders were killed in an explosion as they assembled firecrackers at the Fanglin elementary school, which is located in a small village 480 miles southwest of Shanghai, China," Miller and Pelosi wrote.

"What has emerged is a very disturbing picture of systematic forced labor by very young children that requires a thorough review by the U.S. Customs Service and, if corroborated, immediate action in conformity with legal restrictions against the importation of products manufactured under such conditions."

Miller said that the explosion had exposed the use of child labor in China that may not have been previously recognized. "The Chinese government has stated that school businesses do not use child labor," he said. "But the explosion that killed 37 children at the Fanglin elementary school in March suggests otherwise."

In April, Miller introduced a bi-partisan House resolution expressing the condolences of Congress to the families of those killed at the Fanglin school and Congress' support for international trade agreements that will enforce the International Labor Organization's core labor standards, which include the prohibition of child labor and forced labor. Miller said he hoped that the House International Relations Committee would take up his resolution during its consideration of several bills this Wednesday.

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)