EU Ready for ‘Final Negotiations’ on Forced Labor Legislation

The European Council is ready to begin negotiations with the European Parliament on a regulation barring products made with forced labor from the European Union.

​​The political branch, which comprises heads of state or government of the bloc’s 27 member countries, revealed Friday that it has agreed on a common mandate, one that “reinforces” the role of the European Commission, a.k.a. the EU’s executive arm, in investigating the use of forced labor and “aligns” the proposed measures with international standards and European legislation.

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“It is appalling that in the 21st century, slavery and forced labor still exist in the world,” said Pierre-Yves Dermagne, deputy prime minister and minister for the economy and employment of Belgium, which will hold the European Council’s presidency until the end of June. “This hideous crime must be eradicated and the first step to achieve this [consists of] breaking the business model of companies that exploit workers.”

More than 27 million people were engaged in forced labor in 2021, according to the International Labour Organization, which uses the term to describe any work or service that is performed involuntarily and under the threat of penalty.

The European Commission’s proposal, which it put forward in 2022, seeks to prevent any goods involving forced labor from being placed or made available in the EU market or exported from the EU to countries outside the region. Competent authorities, it said, should ascertain forced labor risks based on a raft of sources, including submissions from civil society, a database of modern slavery risk areas and products, and intelligence on whether companies are carrying out their due diligence obligations concerning forced labor.

In the event of “reasonable indications” that a product has been made with coerced labor, authorities can launch an investigation involving requests for information from companies or inspections in the EU or in third countries. If forced labor was indeed a factor, authorities can order the withdrawal of the offending product and ban both its placement on the market and its export. The businesses in question may be required to dispose of the goods concerned, the European Commission said, and customs agencies will be responsible for keeping the banned products from entering EU borders.

“With this regulation, we want to make sure that there is no place for their products in our single market, whether they are manufactured in Europe or abroad,” Dermagne said. “The [European Council] presidency [intends] to finish the interinstitutional negotiations before the end of this legislative term.”

While small and medium-sized corporations are not exempt from the regulation, their size and economic resources, along with the scale of forced labor, will be taken into consideration before an investigation is initiated. They’ll also receive specific support tools.

The European Commission calls for the establishment of a so-called Union Network against Forced Labour Products, which will coordinate measures adopted by it and its members. The European Council’s mandate, it said, “formalizes” the administrative cooperation within the network to ensure its “active participation in all phases of the process leading to the banning of a product.”

The negotiating position also supports the formation of a forced labor portal that provides “easily accessible and relevant” guidelines and tools, including a single information submission point and information on decisions taken, such as the outlawing of a particular product.

The European Parliament adopted its own negotiating position in October. In it, the legislative body amended the European Commission’s proposal to require its administrators to create a list of geographical areas and economic sectors at high risk of using forced labor. In the case of goods produced in these high-risk areas, authorities won’t have to prove that people have been coerced into work, since the burden of proof will fall on companies, similar to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act in the United States.

The European Parliament’s internal market and international trade committees also want products that have been removed from the market to be allowed back on only after the relevant company demonstrates it has removed forced labor from its operations or supply chain and provided the necessary remedy.

“Forced labor is a grave human rights violation,” said Dutch politician and co-rapporteur Samira Rafaela. “The ban…will be essential in blocking products made using modern slavery and taking away the economic incentive for companies to engage in forced labor. It will protect whistleblowers, provide remedy to victims and defend our businesses and SMEs from unethical competition.”

A “substantial volume” of apparel tainted by Uyghur forced labor from China is “flooding” into the European Union, warned a coalition of organizations, including Sheffield Hallam University’s Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice and the Uyghur Center for Democracy and Human Rights, in December.

A study that they published named dozens of high-street, high-fashion and mid-market brands, including Adidas, H&M Group, Hugo Boss, Levi Strauss & Co., Ralph Lauren and Zara owner Inditex, as being at risk of sourcing products made by persecuted Muslim minorities in state-imposed labor transfer programs that are part of a larger cultural and religious crackdown.

The previous month, Anti-Slavery International, the Clean Clothes Campaign, Fashion Revolution, IndustriALL Global Union, Human Rights Watch, the International Federation for Human Rights and other human rights groups wrote to the European Council pressing it to “speed up negotiations” on its common position, which was holding back movement on the legislation.

They also asked that other considerations be included, such as lowering the proof required to initiate an investigation, shifting the evidentiary burden in geographies and sectors where there is a high risk of state-imposed forced labor, providing a “one-stop shop” complaints mechanism and providing remediation for forced labor victims.

“We’re pleased that the Council has reached its General Approach on the proposed #ForcedLabour regulation today,” Anti-Slavery International posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Friday. “This law can improve the working conditions of millions worldwide. We will be analysing the text in advance of the final negotiations which are now set to start.”

A Europe-wide forced labor law will impose additional due diligence requirements on businesses already grappling with the advent of the EU’s corporate sustainability due diligence directive, or CSDDD, which takes a more general risk-based look at companies’ global value chains and doesn’t require member states to prohibit the availability of any product. Currently, no EU legislation empowers member states’ authorities to ban goods made with forced labor from the market.