Opportunity Information: Apply for FOA ILAB 21 17
The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) announced a grant opportunity (FOA ILAB 21 17) to fund a technical assistance project in Mexico aimed at improving labor rights compliance in the tomato and chile pepper supply chains. The award was structured as a single cooperative agreement, with total available funding of up to $5,000,000 (depending on federal fund availability). The project was designed as a medium-term effort with a maximum performance period of 4.5 years (54 months). Although the opportunity was posted in October 2021 and originally closed in December 2021, the description lays out a clear model for what the Department wanted the selected implementer to do: work directly with private sector actors to raise accountability and reduce labor abuses in specific agricultural sectors and regions.
The central purpose of the project is to increase private sector stakeholders' compliance with Mexican labor law and internationally recognized core labor standards as reflected in the USMCA Labor Chapter. The emphasis is on three high-priority issues: child labor, forced labor (including forced child labor), and unacceptable conditions of work. The geographic focus targets key producing states for tomatoes and chile peppers, particularly Baja California, Baja California Sur, and Chihuahua, where labor risks can be elevated due to factors such as seasonal production cycles, labor contracting practices, and the heavy reliance on migrant labor.
The grant frames its approach as explicitly worker-centered, meaning the project is expected to prioritize workers' rights, voice, and practical access to remedies rather than relying only on top-down compliance checks. ILAB identified two main outcomes. Outcome 1 is increased compliance by private sector stakeholders with laws related to child labor, forced labor, and acceptable working conditions across the tomato and chile pepper supply chains. Outcome 2 is increased use of effective and sustainable compliance and remediation systems by those same stakeholders. In practical terms, the Department was looking not only for improved awareness of legal obligations, but also for lasting systems inside companies and supply chain relationships that can prevent violations, detect problems early, and fix harms when they occur.
A major element of the opportunity is alignment with the USMCA Labor Chapter and the broader international labor framework it incorporates. The USMCA standards include the fundamental labor rights expressed in the International Labor Organization's 1998 Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, and the opportunity highlights enforcement related to forced labor and child labor. The notice also references other USMCA-linked expectations, such as measures to prohibit imports of goods produced by forced labor, protections for workers facing violence or retaliation when exercising labor rights like freedom of association and collective bargaining, attention to gender-based discrimination in the workplace, and ensuring migrant workers receive legal protections. Even though the project is implemented in Mexico, the supply-chain and trade context matters because the agricultural products in question can be part of North American trade flows.
The opportunity also ties the project to business and human rights norms, particularly the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Under that framework, companies are expected to avoid causing or contributing to negative human rights impacts, to address impacts that occur, and to use their leverage to prevent or mitigate harms connected to their business relationships. Consistent with that logic, ILAB expected the project to help producers and other private sector actors strengthen or build due diligence efforts that are more than paper policies. The intent is to embed practical, ongoing processes that identify labor risks, engage workers, establish credible grievance channels, and ensure remediation when violations are found.
To keep the work grounded in recognized best practices, ILAB specified that strategies should align with established due diligence and responsible sourcing guidance. Examples named in the notice include Mexico's Secretariat of Labor and Social Welfare (STPS) Best Labor Practices and Decent Work Accreditation System, the USDA Guidelines for Eliminating Child Labor in Agricultural Supply Chains, ILAB's Comply Chain tools, and international guidance like the OECD-FAO Guidance for Responsible Agricultural Supply Chains. Taken together, these references point toward interventions such as improving internal labor management systems, training and technical support for employers and labor intermediaries, strengthening monitoring and corrective action practices, building effective remediation pathways, and centering worker voice so that compliance systems reflect real working conditions rather than only management reports.
Administratively, the funding was offered under CFDA 17.401 as a discretionary award, with ILAB as the granting agency and one expected award at the ceiling of $5 million. Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others" with additional eligibility details referenced elsewhere in the full announcement, which is typical for ILAB technical assistance competitions that often attract NGOs, international organizations, and other qualified entities with labor rights and supply-chain expertise. Overall, the opportunity is best understood as a targeted, sector-specific effort to reduce severe labor risks and strengthen durable compliance and remediation systems in Mexican tomato and chile pepper production, using a worker-centered and due diligence-based model aligned with Mexican law and USMCA labor commitments.Apply for FOA ILAB 21 17
- The Department of Labor, Bureau of International Labor Affairs in the other (see text field entitled explanation of other category of funding activity for clarification) sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Increased compliance with Mexican labor law and international labor standards by the tomato and chile pepper sectors in Mexico" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 17.401.
- This funding opportunity was created on Oct 04, 2021.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Dec 06, 2021. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $5,000,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
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