{
  "id": "RL32990",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL32990",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 306352,
      "date": "2005-07-13",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-07T19:39:02.196029",
      "title": "Child Labor in West African Cocoa Production: Issues and U.S. Policy",
      "summary": "Stories of children being trafficked to work under horrific conditions in West African cocoa\nfields\nemerged in 2000. Shortly thereafter, in 2001, Congress passed  H.Amdt. 142  to  P.L.\n107-76 ,  FY2002 Agriculture, Rural Development and Food and Drug Administration (FDA)\nAppropriations , which would have provided $250,000 to the Food and Drug Administration, to\nbe\nused to develop a label for chocolate products indicating that no child slave labor had been used in\nthe growing and harvesting of cocoa in a product so labeled. A Senate companion bill was never\nintroduced, in part because after House passage of the bill, representatives of the cocoa industry, the\nInternational Labor Organization (ILO), several private labor rights groups, and Members of\nCongress, negotiated \u201ca comprehensive, six-point problem-solving\u201d protocol aimed\nat ending the\n\u201cuse of abusive child labor in cocoa growing.\u201d Signatories to the protocol committed\nto developing\na certification process that would ensure that no abusive child labor would be used in cocoa\nproduction. It is currently being debated whether the protocol has been implemented in full by its\nJuly 1, 2005 deadline. Critics contend that the cocoa/chocolate industry fell short of its\ncommitments, as it has only developed a pilot certification scheme in Ghana and Cote\nd\u2019Ivoire --\nwhich does not encapsulate the entire West African cocoa producing region. The industry counters\nthat significant progress has been made, the affected governments have contributed significant\nresources towards this endeavor, and that this is a work in progress. According to a joint statement\nreleased by Senator Tom Harkin, Representative Eliot Engel, and the cocoa/chocolate industry on\nJuly 1, 2005, the cocoa/chocolate industry has committed to expanding its pilot certification system \nto cover 50% of the cocoa growing areas of Cote d\u2019Ivoire and Ghana within three years.\n \n There has been a wide range of suggestions in countering the use of abusive child labor in cocoa\nproduction. Some advocate revoking trade preferences. Others point to the root cause of child labor:\npoverty. Those analysts suggest boosting investments in education, and boosting world cocoa prices. \nStill some observers assert that conflict and political instability will hinder any effort to counter\nabusive child labor. \n \n This report outlines how and where cocoa is produced, discusses the use of abusive child labor\nin the industry, efforts by Congress to counter abusive child labor -- including the Harkin-Engel\nProtocol, and initiatives by affected governments and international organizations to address the\nproblem. This report also provides possible policy options that might undertaken to stop the use of\nchild labor in cocoa production. This report will be periodically updated.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "encoding": "utf-8",
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL32990",
          "sha1": "a83f8d3a68c9dc3cbdee2f38959a966795dc1c89",
          "filename": "files/20050713_RL32990_a83f8d3a68c9dc3cbdee2f38959a966795dc1c89.html",
          "images": null
        },
        {
          "format": "PDF",
          "encoding": null,
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL32990",
          "sha1": "1e9599bf1ef8c24d59c20e5eaf2eaf69f4e73c53",
          "filename": "files/20050713_RL32990_1e9599bf1ef8c24d59c20e5eaf2eaf69f4e73c53.pdf",
          "images": null
        }
      ],
      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Appropriations",
    "Foreign Affairs"
  ]
}