The European Union may soon adopt legislation that will ban imported products produced with forced labor from accessing the European market.

On October 16, 2023, the European Parliament's Internal Market and International Trade Committees expressed their support for the proposal to ban products produced with forced labor in the European Union, which was presented by the European Commission.

The new text will be submitted to the plenary of the European Parliament to confirm whether this version will be considered the Parliament's official position. Despite the advanced state of discussions in Parliament, the European Council has not yet expressed its opinion on this issue.

The European Union's decision follows the understanding adopted by the United States to ban the import of products which are shown to have been produced, directly or indirectly, with forced or child labor.