The EU wants to ban products manufactured within the Union using forced labor. Negotiators from the European Parliament and EU countries agreed on Tuesday evening on a law requiring corresponding products to be withdrawn from circulation at the EU’s borders.
Member States and the European Commission must therefore launch investigations if they suspect forced labor in the supply chain of a product. If the suspicion is confirmed, goods must be seized at EU borders and removed from the European market. For regions where state-organized forced labor is suspected – China in particular is mentioned time and again – the burden of proof should be reversed: affected companies would then have to prove that there is no forced labor in their supply chain. This could include China’s Uighur province of Xinjiang.
SPÖ: Exploitation should not be a competitive advantage
SPÖ-EU MPs Andreas Schieder and Evelyn Regner welcomed the agreement in a broadcast on Tuesday, but at the same time stressed that a truly comprehensive reform would also require an end to the blockade of the EU supply chain law. “The agreement now reached is the first step towards permanently banning products produced through forced labor and exploitation of the European internal market,” said SPÖ-EU delegation leader Schieder. Exploitation should not mean a competitive advantage for companies.
Similar US law in force since 2021
In the US, a law has been in force since 2021 to prevent Uyghur forced labor. Since then, manufacturers have had to prove that no Uyghur forced laborers have been used in their production chains. Supporters of EU legislation therefore warned that without appropriate European regulations, more and more products from Xinjiang would be imported into the EU.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
