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EU wants to ban the sale of products made using forced labor

On Tuesday, the Council and the European Parliament reached a preliminary agreement to ban the sale of products made with forced labor in the European Union.

With this regulation, which must be formally adopted by the Council and the European Parliament for it to come into force, the EU aims to ensure that these products have no place in the single market, regardless of whether they are produced in Europe or abroad.

“It is shocking that in the 21st century, slavery and forced labor still exist in the world. This heinous crime must be eradicated, and the first step towards achieving this goal is to destroy the business model of companies that exploit workers,” said the Belgian Labor Minister. Economy and Employment, Pierre-Yves Derman, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union.

An estimated 27.6 million people were affected in 2021, mostly in the private sector but also victims of so-called state-sponsored forced labor, said European Parliament negotiator and Portuguese Socialist MEP Maria Manuel Leitan Marques.

National authorities or, if third countries are involved, the European Commission will investigate the alleged use of forced labor in companies’ supply chains.

If the investigation concludes that forced labor was used, authorities could order the removal of goods from the EU market and online marketplaces and confiscation at borders.

The agreement also specifies that these goods are donated, recycled or destroyed, while strategic or critical goods can be retained until the company eliminates forced labor from its supply chains.

Companies that do not comply may be fined. However, if they eliminate forced labor from their supply chains, banned products could return to the market.

The final decision on the ban, seizure and destruction of products produced using forced labor will be made by the body conducting the investigation.

The decision taken by the national authority will be applied in all other Member States on the basis of the principle of mutual recognition.

The preliminary agreement explains that if a part of a product that violates this regulation is to be replaced, the removal procedure applies only to the part in question.

So, for example, if part of a car was made by forced labor, then that particular part will have to be thrown away, and not the entire car.

However, as another example, if the tomatoes used to make the sauce were produced through forced labor, the entire sauce would have to be thrown away.

The Commission will now have to draw up a list of specific sectors of the economy in certain geographical regions where government coercion exists, which will be a criterion for assessing the need to open an investigation.

The EU implementing authority may also identify products or groups of products for which importers and exporters will be required to provide additional information to EU customs, such as information about the manufacturer and its suppliers.

A new Unified Forced Labor Portal will be created to help ensure compliance with the new rules.

The platform will include guidelines, prohibition information, a database of risk areas and sectors, as well as publicly available evidence and a breach reporting portal.

Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal

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