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To boost exports, convince US no child labour is used, lobbyist tells carpet-makers

A US-based lobbying firm has advised Indian manufacturers to launch an awareness campaign in the United States to convince the customs, importers and consumers that the carpets shipped from India are free from child labour.

Lobbyist Brenda A Jacobs, counsel to Powell, Goldstein, Frazer and Murphy LLP in its customs and trade practice group in Washington, was engaged by the Carpet Export Promotion Council one-and-a-half-years ago to lobby for the 'Kaleen' label which assures that no child labour is involved in weaving of the carpet.

''I have suggested to the council that it should send a delegation to the US to launch an aggressive campaign to convince customs, the Oriental Rug Importers' Association and consumers that the Indian handknotted carpets do not carry the stigma of child labour,'' Jacobs, who was in New Delhi recently, said.

An executive order was passed by US President Bill Clinton on June 12, directing executive agencies in the administration to enforce the laws prohibiting import of goods manufactured wholly or partly by forced or indentured child labour.

Section 307 of the US Trade Act of 1930 states that ''all goods wares, articles and merchandise mined, produced or manufactured wholly or in part in any foreign country by convict labor or/and forced labor or/and indentured labor under penal sanctions shall not be entitled to entry at any of the parts of the United States, and the importation thereof is hereby prohibited.''

The lobbyist informed the CEPC chairman Shreedhar Misra that the Clinton administration has sanctioned $3 million to US customs services for effective implementation of the order.

During her two-day stay, Jacobs met government officials and members of the CEPC and informed them of the problems being faced by the Indian carpet industry in the US.

''The CEPC should formulate a strategy for effective interaction with the US department of labour and customs, and the ORIA to promote Kaleen label on the lines of rugmark there, she said.

UNI

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