Belgium (Brussels Morning Newspaper), MEPs have welcomed moves to ban products made from slave labor from the EU market.
This comes after the EU parliament gave its final approval to a new regulation enabling the EU to prohibit the sale, import, and export of goods made using forced labor.
Under the proposal, EU member state authorities and the European Commission will be able to investigate suspicious goods, supply chains, and manufacturers.
Rapporteur for the Internal Market committee, Maria-Manuel Leitao-Marques (S&D, PT) said: “Today, worldwide, 28 million people are trapped in the hands of human traffickers and states who force them to work for little or no pay.
“Europe cannot export its values while importing products made with forced labor. The fact that the EU finally has a law to ban these products is one of the biggest achievements of this mandate and a victory for progressive forces.”
It means that if a product is deemed to have been made using forced labor, 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.
Decisions to investigate will be based on factual and verifiable information that can be received from, for example, international organizations, cooperating authorities, and whistle-blowers. Several risk factors and criteria will be taken into account, including the prevalence of state-imposed forced labor in certain economic sectors and geographic areas.
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 into the EU single market once the company eliminates forced labor from its supply chains.
further reaction came from the rapporteur for the International Trade Committee, Samira Rafaela (Renew, NL).
She said: “This is a historic day. We have adopted a ground-breaking piece of legislation to combat forced labor worldwide. This regulation fosters EU and international cooperation, shifts power from exploiters to consumers and employees, and offers possibilities for remedies for victims. It also transforms trade policies into a greener and fairer future.”
