EU bill banning products made with forced labour set to become law
The European Parliament has given the final green light to a new regulation banning products made with forced labour.
‘If a product is deemed to have been made using forced labour, it will no longer be possible to sell it on the EU market (including online) and shipments will be intercepted at the EU’s borders,’ the EU Parliament said, 23 April. ‘Manufacturers of banned goods will have to withdraw their products from the EU single market and donate, recycle or destroy them. Non-compliant companies could be fined. The goods may be allowed back on the EU single market once the company eliminates forced labour from its supply chains.’
The EU’s initial proposal two years ago followed widespread allegations that China was using the Uyghur Muslim minority in the Xinjiang region as forced labour, an accusation denied by Beijing as ‘vicious lies’ spread by ‘anti-China forces.’ The present regulation, adopted with 555 votes in favour, 6 votes against and 45 abstentions, needs a final endorsement from the EU Council, after which Member States will be required to enforce it within three years.
The draft EU law comes amid an intense push in the United States to toughen enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (‘UFLPA’), which came into effect in June 2022 and prohibits all goods from Xinjiang to be imported into the US, on the presumption they were made with forced labour.
