According to the legislation passed by 555 votes to 6 with 45 abstentions, Member State authorities and the European Commission will be able to investigate suspicious goods, supply chains and manufacturers, and if a product is proven to have been made using forced labor, it will no longer be available on the EU market – including the Internet – to sell. Such shipments are intercepted at EU borders.
Decisions to conduct investigations must be based on factual and verifiable information, which the authorities can receive from, for example, international organizations, cooperating authorities and whistleblowers. A number of risk factors and criteria will be taken into account, including the prevalence of state-mandated forced labor in certain economic sectors and geographic areas.
Manufacturers of banned products must withdraw their products from the EU’s single market and ship them elsewhere, recycle them or destroy them. Companies that do not comply with the regulations can be fined. Goods can be returned to the EU’s single market if the company concerned ends forced labor in the entire supply chain.
The regulation must now be officially adopted by the Council of the European Union. After its announcement, the EU countries must start applying the regulation within three years.
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