38 ■ US
C&CI
The National Coffee
March 2010
Association (NCA) in the
NCA takes up
US is currently involved
in addressing the
potential effects of a legislative fight on
range of proposed
legislation, including
issues such as child
a number of fronts
labour, food safety, and
The NCA wants to ensure labour legislation
attempts in California to
does not affect trade unduly
have coffee included
on a list of potential
carcinogens
T
he NCA is working closely with other
interested trade associations in draft-
ing alternative language regarding the
labour provisions in the Baucus-Grassley
Customs Facilitation and Trade Enforcement
Reauthorization Act (S. 1631) now in the
Senate Finance Committee.
The bill, if enacted as constituted, would
eliminate the consumptive demand excep- is especially troublesome because the US native language around the bill’s labour pro-
tion to section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930. Department of Labour’s Bureau of visions. The NCA and its coalition partners
(19 U.S.C. § 1307) While Section 307 pro- International Labour Affairs (ILAB) recently are in the process of refining a set of amend-
hibits the import of goods made with con- issued three reports on child labour and/or ments, including:
vict, forced or indentured labour, it also pro- forced labour in countries around the globe,"
vides an exemption when the goods in said the NCA, "which could result in some ■ An amendment requiring a report on the
question are not mined, produced or manu- customs agents assuming that coffee ship- economic effects of a repeal
factured in such quantities so as to meet ments coming from countries identified as ■ An amendment requiring that any import
"consumptive demands" in the US. At the using child labour, resulting in entry being restrictions be based on direct and specific
time of writing, the NCA was scheduled to stopped for erroneous assumptions." evidence
meet with the Senate Finance Committee "Equally troubling, should a shipment be ■ An amendment exempting a product if the
staff on this matter. prohibited entry the burden would fall on the Department of State certifies a good faith
"While the removal of the consumptive importer to certify with a reasonable degree effort to address labour issues by a particu-
demand exception may be well intentioned, of certainty that the coffee was not produced lar country or sector.
it could impact the free flow of international with forced or indentured child labour."
trade resulting in a major disruption of As previously reported, the NCA expects
Food Safety Bill
essential goods and commodities into the the Department of Labour will continue to
US, significantly impairing the economies of put pressure on US companies to take
passes Senate
the exporting nations," said the NCA. proactive steps to monitor and eradicate the
committee
Most of S.1631’s other provisions are illegal use of child labour by using media to
non-controversial and have been supported put public pressure on companies In November, the Senate Health, Education,
by the business community. The bill however "The US coffee industry and the NCA Labour and Pensions (HELP) Committee
would also prescribe specific civil penalties have a history of working with the unanimously passed the FDA Food Safety
for those who import prohibited goods, and International Labour Organization (ILO) and Modernization Act (S. 510) originally intro-
create a new office within US Immigration the US Department of Labour on child duced in March 2009. The approved bill was
and Customs Enforcement to monitor labour programmes," said the NCA, noting a Chairman's mark of a bill authored by
imported products. that the NCA has also communicated to cof- Senator Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) that correct-
"The removal of the consumptive fee producing nations the critical nature of ed a number of technical issues and made
demand language would give customs farmers following their national labour laws some changes.
agents unilateral authority to prohibit entry as they relate to child labour. The NCA worked closely with other trade
should they suspect forced or indentured Senate Finance staff have indicated that associations in drafting proposed language
child labour was used to produce the coffee, they will look for feedback on possible alter- regarding traceability and the adoption of a
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52