The Council and the European Parliament have reached a provisional deal to ban products made with forced labour.

Sourced from: Council and Parliament of the European Union

The Council and the European Parliament have reached a provisional deal on the regulation prohibiting in the EU market products made with forced labour. The provisional agreement reached today between the two co-legislators supports the main objective of the proposal to prohibit the placing and making available on the EU market, or the export from the EU market, of any product made using forced labour. The deal introduces significant modifications to the original proposal clarifying responsibilities of the Commission and national competent authorities in the investigation and decision-making process.

Reuters 6th October 2016: EU supply chain database needed to stamp out forced labor: activist

Original Source: Reuters – 6th October 2016

LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – The European Union should require companies to publicly disclose the origin of all products imported and sold within the 28-nation bloc to help stamp out labor abuses, an anti-slavery activist said on Wednesday.

The data should be uploaded in a common database accessible by consumers, allowing them to make informed decisions on what they buy, British rights activist Andy Hall of the Migrant Worker Rights Network said.

It is appalling that in the 21st century slavery and forced labour still exist in the world. This hideous crime must be eradicated and the first step to achieve this consists in breaking the business model of companies that exploit workers. With this regulation we want to make sure that there is no place for their products on our single market, whether they are manufactured in Europe or abroad.Pierre-Yves Dermagne, Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for the Economy and Employment

The database of forced labour risk areas and products

Co-legislators have agreed that, to facilitate the implementation of this regulation, the Commission will establish a database containing verifiable and regularly updated information about forced labour risks, including reports from international organisations (such as the International Labour Organization). The database should support the work of the Commission and national competent authorities in assessing possible violations of this regulation.

Risk-based approach

The provisional agreement sets clear criteria to be applied by the Commission and national competent authorities when assessing the likelihood of violations of this regulation. These criteria are:

• the scale and severity of the suspected forced labour, including whether state-imposed forced labour may be a concern
• the quantity or volume of products placed or made available on the Union market
• the share of the parts of the product likely to be made with forced labour in the final product
• the proximity of economic operators to the suspect forced labour risks in their supply chain as well as their leverage to address them

The Commission will issue guidelines for economic operators and competent authorities to help them to comply with the requirements of this regulation, including best practices for bringing to an end and remediating different types of forced labour. These guidelines will also include accompanying measures for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, which can be available through the Forced Labour Single Portal.

Who will lead the investigations?

The agreement reached by the two co-legislators lays down the criteria to determine which authority should lead the investigations. The Commission will be leading investigations outside the EU territory. Where the risks are in the territory of a member state, the competent authority of that member state will lead the investigations. If competent authorities, while assessing the likelihood of violations of this regulation, find new information about the suspected forced labour, they must inform the competent authority of other member states, provided that the suspected forced labour is taking place in the territory of that member state. Similarly, they must inform the Commission if the suspected forced labour is occurring outside the EU.

The deal reached today ensures that economic operators can be heard in all stages of the investigation, as appropriate. It also ensures that other relevant information will also be taken into account.

Final decisions

The final decision (i.e., to ban, withdraw and dispose of a product made with forced labour) will be taken by the authority that led the investigation. The decision taken by a national authority will apply in all other member states based on the principle of mutual recognition.

In cases of supply risks of critical products made with forced labour, the competent authority can decide not to impose its disposal, and instead order the economic operator to withhold the product until it can demonstrate that there is no more forced labour in their operations or respective supply chains.

The provisional agreement clarifies that, if a part of the product which is found to be in violation of this regulation is replaceable, the order to dispose of applies only to the part concerned. For instance, if a part of a car is made with forced labour, that part will have to be disposed of, but not the whole car. The car manufacturer will have to find a new supplier for that part or make sure that it is not made with forced labour. However, if tomatoes used to make a sauce are produced using forced-labour, all the sauce will have to be disposed of.

Next steps

The provisional agreement reached with the European Parliament now needs to be endorsed and formally adopted by both institutions.

Background

Roughly 27.6 million people are in forced labour around the world, in many industries and in every continent. Most forced labour takes place in the private sector, while some is imposed by public authorities.

The Commission proposed the regulation to prohibit products made with forced labour in the EU on 14 September 2022. The Council adopted its negotiating position on 26th January 2024.

Background Information:

5th March 2024: EU Parliament, Council agree to ban products made with forced labour

26th January 2024 – Council of the EU Press Release: Forced labour – Council adopts position to ban products made with forced labour on the EU market

17th Oct 2023: Towards an EU Ban on Forced Labor – EU Parliament agrees position to move negotiations forward

November 2022- S&D Workshop: Tackling forced labour in our global supply chains, on 8 November 2022

September 14th 2022 Reuters – EU proposes banning products made with forced labour

26th February 2022 SCMP: EU to punish rights abuses in supply chains, with forced labour ban to follow

13th July 2021: ENDING MODERN DAY SLAVERY: TOWARDS AN EU IMPORT BAN ON FORCED LABOUR

2nd Oct 2019: The US is taking action on forced labour in Malaysia’s rubber glove industry. Will the EU follow suit?

Reuters Oct 6th 2016: EU supply chain database needed to stamp out forced labor: activist

The post 5th March 2024: European Council and Parliament strike a deal to ban products made with forced labour (includes background journey towards this regulation, which started for me in 2016 when visiting Brussels and meeting the EU Trade Commissioner) appeared first on Andy Hall.

The Council has today adopted its position (negotiating mandate) on the regulation prohibiting products made with forced labour on the EU market. The negotiating mandate of the Council supports the overall objective of combatting forced labour, and it introduces several improvements to the proposed text.

The Council mandate clarifies the scope of the regulation by including products offered for distance sales, envisages the creation of a forced labour single portal, and reinforces the role of the Commission in investigating and proving the use of forced labour, while aligning the proposed measures with both international standards and EU legislation.

It is appalling that in the 21st century slavery and forced labour still exist in the world. ILO estimates that 27.6 million people were in forced labour. This hideous crime must be eradicated and the first step to achieve this consist in breaking the business model of companies that exploit workers. 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. The Presidency ambitions to finish the interinstitutional negotiations before the end of this legislative term.Pierre-Yves Dermagne, Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for the Economy and Employment

Original source of press release: HERE

EU Commission’s proposal

The proposal prohibits products made with forced labour (as defined by the International Labour Organization) from being placed or made available on the Union market or exported from the Union to third countries. The competent authorities should assess forced labour risks based on a range of different sources of information, such as submissions from civil society, a database on forced labour risk areas or products, as well as information on whether the companies concerned carry out their due diligence obligations in relation to forced labour.

In the event of reasonable indications that a product has been made with forced labour, the authorities should start an investigation. This can include requests for information from companies or carrying out checks and inspections either in the EU or in third countries. If the competent authorities find out that forced labour was used, they will order the withdrawal of the product in question and ban both its placement on the market and its export. Companies will be required to dispose of the goods concerned, and the customs authorities will oversee the enforcement of the prohibition on exports or imports of banned products at the EU borders.

SMEs are not exempted from the regulation, but the size and economic resources of companies, as well as the scale of forced labour, should be taken into consideration before initiating formal investigations. The proposal also provides for specific support tools to help SMEs with the application of the regulation.

The proposal foresees the creation of a Union Network against Forced Labour Products, which will coordinate the measures taken by the competent authorities and the Commission.

Council’s mandate

The Council negotiating mandate envisages the establishment of the Union Network against Forced Labour Products in order to ensure better coordination between the competent authorities and the Commission in the application of this regulation. The Council position formalises the administrative cooperation within the Network and ensures its active participation in all phases of the process leading to the banning of a product.

The mandate also envisages the creation of a forced labour single portal, which would provide easily accessible and relevant information and tools, including a single information submission point, a database and guidelines, and easy access to information on decisions taken.

The Council position anticipates the necessary collaboration between the competent Member State authorities and the Commission in the application of the forced labour ban regulation so as to ensure that its enforcement and implementation are in line with the requirements of the corporate sustainability due diligence directive and the whistleblowers directive.

Commission’s role in investigations and decisions

To reduce the administrative burden and simplify the allocation of cases, the mandate strengthens the role of the European Commission. The Commission, based on all relevant, verifiable and credible information, will assess whether the products concerned are of Union interest.

A “Union interest” is assumed to exist when one or more of the following criteria are met:

• the scale and severity of suspected forced labour is significant;
• the risks of suspected forced labour are located outside the territory of the Union;
• the products concerned have a significant impact on the internal market (they are presumed to have a significant impact when they are present in at least 3 member states)

If there is a Union interest, the Commission will automatically take over the pre-investigation phase. Otherwise, the pre-investigation phase will be carried out by a national competent authority.

Investigations

The Council mandate simplifies coordination in cases of cross-border investigations, with the designation of a lead competent authority (which will launch the preliminary phase and ensure the continuity of the investigation and the participation of other authorities) and with greater involvement of the Union Network against Forced Labour Products to ensure transparency and a Union approach.

The mandate also clarifies the procedure for field inspections, envisaged as a last resort measure. These inspections should be based on the location of the suspected forced labour risks and be conducted with full respect for national sovereignty.

Inspections in third countries

According to the Council’s position, when there is a need to conduct inspections outside the Union, the Commission must establish contacts with third countries (at its own initiative, in cases of Union interest, or at the request of a competent authority) and ask the third country governments to conduct inspections on the suspected cases of forced labour. If the Commission’s request is rejected by the government of the third country, this may constitute a case of non-cooperation and the Commission can take a decision based on other relevant evidence.

Final decisions

The Commission will be responsible for preparing the final decision (i.e. to ban a particular product) via an implementing act to be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure, and it will provide a non-confidential summary of this decision on the forced labour single portal.

Next steps

The mandate agreed today formalises the Council’s negotiating position. It provides the Council presidency with a mandate for negotiations with the European Parliament, which adopted its position on 8 November 2023. Interinstitutional negotiations will start as soon as possible.

Background

Around 27.6 million people are in forced labour around the world, in many industries and in every continent. Most forced labour takes place in the private economy, while some is imposed by public authorities. 
The Commission proposed the regulation to prohibit products made with forced labour on the European market on 14 September 2022. 

• Commission proposal

Press contacts

Ferran Tarradellas Espuny

Press officer +32 473 95 45 74 +32 2 281 6291

Twitter@TarradellasEU

Additional Reading:

See more: 26th January 2024: UK Seasonal Worker Scheme Modern Slavery Issues: Indonesian fruit picker landed in debt bondage challenges Home Office

See more: 17th Oct 2023: Crimes Behind Global Seafood Supply Chains – Ian Urbina’s Forced Labour Investigations Into Chinese Seafood Supply Chains

See more: 10th July 2023: Allegations of forced labour and dangerous conditions at Dyson Malaysian factory

See more: 16th March 2023: Labour agencies to face supermarket scrutiny over foreign worker exploitation claims in UK seasonal worker scheme

See more:

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