EU to Implement Bans on Products Made by Forced Labor

EU to Implement Bans on Products Made by Forced Labor

European companies selling products produced by forced labor must stop or risk being fined.

These new regulations could be implemented following a provisional agreement between the EU Parliament and the Council negotiators.

In a press release dated March 6, 2024, details of the new regulation suggest a framework would be created for enforcing this ban, including through investigations, new IT solutions and cooperation with other authorities and countries.

The statement also reported the EU Commission would investigate the suspected use of forced labour in companies’ supply chains in third countries. If such investigations found that forced labor had been used, the authorities could demand all relevant goods to be withdrawn from the EU market and online marketplaces and confiscated at the borders.

The goods would then have to be donated, recycled or destroyed. Goods of strategic or critical importance for the Union may be withheld until the company eliminates forced labour from its supply chains.

The United States has already implemented laws banning goods produced by forced labor, impacting the printer and imaging supplies industry. Organisations like ETIRA have called for the European Union to ban products from China where forced labor has been used.

The European Parliament and Council must now give their final green light to the provisional agreement. The regulation will then be published in the Official Journal and enter into force the following day. After that, EU countries will have 3 years to apply the new rules.

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