The European Council has adopted a regulation banning products manufactured using forced labor from the Union market. The regulation prohibits the placing and making available on the Union market as well as the export of such products.
The EU regulation does not only apply to China! All sectors of industry must comply with the new regulation. Economic operators of all sizes must ensure and, if necessary, prove that the products they make available on the Union market are manufactured free from forced labor.
In order to implement the resulting obligations, the necessary structures must be established within the company before the regulation comes into force in 2027. Value chains should be analyzed in advance and, if necessary, structurally adapted. Failure to do so could result not only in significant sanctions, reputational damage and competitive disadvantages, but also a ban on importing the goods in question onto the European market.
Once signed by the President of the European Parliament and the President of the Council, the Regulation will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and will enter into force on the day following its publication. It shall apply three years after the date of entry into force.
Links:
Products made with forced labour: Council adopts ban
Regulation prohibiting products made with forced labour on the Union market
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