The European Commission has proposed banning all products made using forced labour from the EU market, whether produced domestically or imported. If the proposal introduced in late 2022 comes into force, it will impact many labour-intensive industries and related foreign trade and investment worldwide, creating new challenges for Chinese enterprises trading with Europe.
Several Western countries, including the US, have already restricted trade of products from certain regions in China on the grounds of “forced labour” in recent years.
In December 2021, the US government passed the Uyghur Forced Labour Prevention Act, which prohibits US importers from importing products manufactured in Xinjiang unless clear and convincing evidence can be produced proving that forced labour was not involved in the production. Unfortunately, forced labour may remain one of the most problematic issues in Sino-US trade for some time to come.
This article addresses anti-forced labour issues from the perspective of corporate environmental and social governance (ESG) compliance, helping enterprises chart the best path forward.
“Forced labour” is any work in which people are employed against their will by unlawful means. The most authoritative definition may be that of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in article 2 of the ILO Forced Labour Convention, 1930: All work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty, and for which the said...
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