The Greens/European Free Alliance (EFA) Group in the European Parliament released a discussion paper that examines options for an EU mechanism on forced labor and modern slavery. Such a mechanism would allow the EU to immediately stop goods at the EU border when there is reasonable suspicion the goods have been produced with forced labor.

The European Parliament has called for a new instrument to allow import bans on products related to severe human rights violations, such as child labor or forced labor. The paper’s introduction notes that around 25 million people are estimated to be in forced labor globally, and products made by them often end up in the European market, meaning that the EU “unwillingly consume[s] and contribute[s] to this exploitation.” Although the EU is developing a proposal for a law on corporate human rights and environmental due diligence, this law will not allow for restrictions or bans on products linked to forced labor. The paper therefore aims to examine opportunities to complement the upcoming EU due diligence law with an import ban instrument that would allow the EU an additional tool to ensure that no products sold in the EU are linked to human rights abuses and forced labor.

The paper titled, ‘Towards an Import Ban on Forced Labor and Modern Slavery,’ analyzes four options for introducing an import ban via: EU foreign policy, such as the new EU Human Rights Sanctions mechanism; amending EU Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and other trade mechanisms; a new internal market mechanism; or a new instrument with a legal trade basis. While the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy includes restrictive measurements like sanctions, the paper concludes it is not the best option because of the “cumbersome and complex decision-making procedure driven by the European Council,” which would restrict specific sanctions to a limited number of high-profile cases, provide limited recourse for individual complaints, and be subjected to broader foreign policy objectives. The paper identifies a similar number of challenges with the option to amend existing trade mechanisms, including challenges with enforcement and variations in trade relations across the EU. The paper identifies and discusses additional challenges when introducing a new internal market mechanism, similar to procedures against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

The paper concludes that the preferred option is a new EU instrument with a trade legal basis that establishes a mandate to withhold the release of goods suspected to be made by or transported by forced labor. The paper suggests such an instrument could draw from previous instruments such as the Regulation banning instruments for torture for the substantive part and the Regulation protecting intellectual property rights (IPRs) for the procedural aspect. To minimize adverse impacts for workers and communities, the paper recommends targeting bans against individual companies or specific products where there has been proven abuse rather than against entire countries or sectors. [Publication: Towards an Import Ban on Forced Labor and Modern Slavery]