Money & markets
Regulation (EU) 2024/3015
Forced labour ban
Regulation on prohibiting products made with forced labour
Products made with forced labour cannot be sold, imported or exported in the EU — with investigations, a public database, and customs that can stop a shipment.
Does this hit me?
You do not file. You may see gaps on shelves in a few categories if a decision lands. This is not a consumer label.
Check in the wizardPick a country in the header to see who enforces this at home. Union text is not the last word for directives.
Next switch-on: in 15 months · 14 Dec 2027 — Forced labour product ban applies
How it rolls in
Dec 2024
Entered into force.
14 Dec 2027
Applies.
Why it exists
Due-diligence laws ask companies to try. This file lets authorities pull a product off the market when forced labour sits in the chain, including state-imposed labour.
What actually changes
- A Union-wide ban on placing or making available such products, and on exports.
- Competent authorities investigate on a risk-based model; the Commission can take Union-interest cases.
- A database of high-risk regions and products to steer due diligence.
- Decisions can demand withdrawal, donation, recycling or destruction — not a slap on the website.
How it hits you
You do not file. You may see gaps on shelves in a few categories if a decision lands. This is not a consumer label.
Heard this? Not quite.
Claim: It replaces CSDDD.
CSDDD is a company duty of process. This regulation is a product ban enforced by authorities and customs. You can be in both.
Latest official statements
All EU NewsNo tagged Commission, Parliament or Council statement in the current feeds.
Board one-pager
Board one-pager
Who this is for: EU finance, trade and reporting teams. Regulation (EU) 2024/3015. in 15 months · 14 Dec 2027.
Scope
- You import, sell or export goods in the Union, especially in high-risk product/region combinations.
First 90 days
- This quarter: Overlay CSDDD/EUDR maps with forced-labour risk indicators.
- This year: Contract clauses: audit, information, and exit if an investigation opens.
- Before 2027: A response pack for authority information requests.
Penalties: Prohibition, withdrawal, donation/recycling/destruction orders; customs block; possible fines under national rules.
For companies
How to stay on the right side of this file
Practical order of work, not a substitute for counsel. Any economic operator placing, making available, or exporting products on the Union market from 14 December 2027.
You are probably
Any economic operator placing, making available, or exporting products on the Union market from 14 December 2027.
Effort
A scoped programme this year beats a scramble at the apply-date.
Budget
SME: owner time plus one honest vendor. Large: a named lead, not a taskforce slide.
Roles in this file
The same company can wear more than one hat. Classify before you buy a tool.
Sustainability
This pack names Sustainability as an owner of early work.
Overlay CSDDD/EUDR maps with forced-labour risk indicators.
Procurement
This pack names Procurement as an owner of early work.
Contract clauses: audit, information, and exit if an investigation opens.
Legal
This pack names Legal as an owner of early work.
A response pack for authority information requests.
Are you in scope?
Build toward- You import, sell or export goods in the Union, especially in high-risk product/region combinations.
Usually not, if
- Pure EU services with no goods.
- A café buying branded coffee already placed on the market — heat sits further up the chain.
First moves
- This quarterOverlay CSDDD/EUDR maps with forced-labour risk indicators.Sustainability
- This yearContract clauses: audit, information, and exit if an investigation opens.Procurement
- Before 2027A response pack for authority information requests.Legal
- Know your tier-1 and the origin of the risky inputs. You will not map 12 tiers; you must be able to answer.
If you skip this
- Paper audits in a region the Commission database already flags.
- Assuming CSDDD compliance is an automatic defence.
Done looks like
- Chain map
- Audit summaries
- Database screening
- Customs product IDs
Keep this evidence
- Chain map
- Audit summaries
- Database screening
- Customs product IDs
Ask vendors
- Where is this made, including sub-tier processing?
- What do you do if a Union investigation names this product?
Where programmes usually break
- Paper audits in a region the Commission database already flags.
- Assuming CSDDD compliance is an automatic defence.
Call counsel when
- Prohibition, withdrawal, donation/recycling/destruction orders; customs block; possible fines under national rules.
- A supervisor letter, a dawn information request, or a deal that warrants this file.
Enforcement
Prohibition, withdrawal, donation/recycling/destruction orders; customs block; possible fines under national rules.
National competent authorities; Commission for Union-interest cases; customs.
Need a stack, not one file? Open the company desk
Professional briefing
Legal architecture and duties
For counsel, compliance, and policy teams. Not advice. The Official Journal still wins.
- Instrument
- Regulation
- Legal basis
- Arts 114 and 207 TFEU · Regulation (EU) 2024/3015
- Application
- Applies 14 December 2027. Database and authority-designation work happens first.
A product ban enforced by authorities and customs, not a corporate reporting statute. CSDDD remains the process duty. High-risk region/product combinations in the forthcoming database are the practical heat map.
How the file is built
Ban (Art 3)
Products made with forced labour shall not be placed, made available, or exported.
Investigations and decisions
National authorities; Commission on Union-interest cases; lead authority model.
Operators
| Role | Who | Core duties |
|---|---|---|
| Economic operator | Places, makes available, or exports the product. | Information to authorities; comply with decisions. |
| Competent authority / Commission | Risk-based investigations. | Database, decisions, confidentiality. |
Scope
Union market and Union exports. Extra-EU production is in if the product crosses the border.
In
- All products, including components, with forced labour in the chain
Out, or narrower than assumed
- No SME exemption from the ban — proportionality sits in the investigation, not a carve-out
Operative provisions
| Anchor | Rule | What it does in practice |
|---|---|---|
| Art 3 | Ban. | Market-access file. |
| Arts 14–17 | Investigations, including field. | Have a response pack. |
| Arts 20–22 | Decisions: withdrawal, donation, recycling, destruction. | Inventory and logistics, not a tweet. |
Secondary law and guidance
- Commission database of risk areas/products
- Guidelines before application
National layer. Each Member State designates authorities. Customs apply Union decisions.
How it sits with other files
Enforcement and private rights
Who
National competent authorities, Commission, customs.
Tools
Product bans, withdrawal, destruction; possible national fines.
Private rights
Limited; NGOs may complain to authorities.
Risk register
| Risk | Signal | Control |
|---|---|---|
| High-risk origin ignored | Category in the draft database, no dual source | Qualify an alternate origin before 2027. |
Open issues
- Database methodology.
- How ‘component’ is traced in complex goods.
- Geopolitical cases.
Primary sources
Products made with forced labour cannot be sold, imported or exported in the EU — with investigations, a public database, and customs that can stop a shipment.
You feel it now
The on-switch is still coming — do not wait for the headline.
Next
Applies from 14 December 2027
Where it lands
| Channel | People | Companies |
|---|---|---|
| Market access, not a report | You do not file. You may see gaps on shelves in a few categories if a decision lands. This is not a consumer label. | Authorities can ban a product. Due diligence is how you stay off that list. |
| Overlap with CSDDD | You do not file. You may see gaps on shelves in a few categories if a decision lands. This is not a consumer label. | Reuse the chain map. This file adds customs and a public database. |
| State-imposed labour | You do not file. You may see gaps on shelves in a few categories if a decision lands. This is not a consumer label. | Some regions will be in the database. Treat that as a sourcing decision, not a press line. |
Who gains
Workers if investigations are real; competitors who already cleaned the chain.
Who pays
Importers and sellers who cannot show a clean chain; workers if the file is theatre.
Who pays
Importers and sellers who cannot show a clean chain; workers if the file is theatre.
Who benefits
Workers if investigations are real; competitors who already cleaned the chain.
Read the official text