European Parliament Recommends Banning Goods Made With Forced Labor
In a resolution meant to be part of the EU's new rules on products created or transported by forced labor, the European Parliament recommended banning such products from the bloc. According to the recommendations, authorities would "detain and seize" the goods at EU borders in instances where "sufficient evidence" indicates that they were made or transported by forced labor.
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The parliament said that the EU should ban these products "on the basis of production site, importer, company, transporter, or the particular region in case of state-sponsored forced labour." The burden will be on the importer to show that its goods were not made or transported by forced labor. The recommendations used the International Labour Organisation indicators to define forced labor.
"The EU has to do more to combat the vicious practice of forced labour systematically, and should do so in alliance with other countries," said Bernd Lange, chair of the International Trade Committee. "There can be no room for exploitation-based products or transport. With the vote today, Parliament laid down the principles along which a ban on such inhumane practices should be constructed: now it is time for the Commission to deliver."