From 14 December 2027, goods produced using forced labour may neither be made available or placed on the Union market nor exported from the European Union. The European Commission’s guidelines on this matter, which have already been published, make it clear that companies must maintain robust evidence for specific products, going beyond formal compliance structures.

The focus is on the obligation to provide evidence for products

The EU Forced Labour Regulation does not establish a general duty of due diligence along the supply chain, nor does it oblige companies to introduce a specific compliance or monitoring system. Nevertheless, economic operators have a clear responsibility: they must ensure that no products linked to forced labour enter the market or are exported from the EU.

How companies achieve this objective is, in principle, left to their discretion. However, it is crucial that the relevant supply chains are traceable and verifiable. Certificates or audit reports may serve as supporting evidence, but are not considered sufficient on their own.

Existing stock may also be affected

The ban does not only apply to goods manufactured or imported in future. Products that were produced or imported into the European Union before 14 December 2027 may also be affected, provided they are made available on the EU market after that cut-off date.

Companies should therefore not only consider their future procurement and production processes. It is equally important to review existing stock in terms of its supply chain and manufacture.

Individual upstream stages can affect the end product

The Regulation does not provide for a materiality threshold. Even the use of forced labour in the extraction of a raw material or in the manufacture of individual components can result in the entire end product falling under the ban.

However, the situation is different for goods that have already reached the end user. There is no provision for the recall of these products.

Investigations focus on products and sites

Regulatory investigations are generally directed at specific products or production at a particular site, not at the company as a whole. Nevertheless, the repercussions can be significantly greater.

For example, if a component manufactured using forced labour is used in different product lines at the same production site, an investigation may cover several products simultaneously. The same applies if a supplier supplies several companies within a group.

Reports can trigger proceedings

For a regulatory investigation to be launched, the facts of the case do not need to be fully proven. A sufficiently concrete suspicion, supported by additional information, may be sufficient.

Such reports may come from various sources: in addition to employees or trade unions, customers, competitors or other business partners may also be involved. The competent authority can then collate and assess various pieces of information, evidence and circumstantial evidence.

Complex supply chains increase the audit workload

A complex supply chain offers no protection against regulatory investigations. On the contrary, a large number of production and transport stages can make traceability more difficult and thus increase the scope of an audit.

Which cases are prioritised by the authorities depends, amongst other things, on the seriousness of the allegations and the significance of the products concerned. Furthermore, the size and financial strength of a company are also to be used as assessment criteria.

Companies with professional procurement and compliance structures are likely to face stricter requirements. In such cases, it will often be more difficult to justify why basic information on the supply chain is not available, or not available at short notice.

 

Source: Reguvis – Newsletter „Außenwirtschaft“, September 2026 (in German)