Erhvervsudvalget 2021-22
ERU Alm.del Bilag 339
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Document ID: 8690162
Initialer-CHATHU
Danish Government response to the call for evidence regarding the in-
itiative “Effectively banning products produced,
extracted or har-
vested with forced labour”
The Danish Government finds that ending forced labour is an area of
great importance and the Danish Government is already promoting decent
work worldwide and supports the Commission’s objective with this initi-
ative.
Denmark finds that ending forced labour is an important part of the sus-
tainable transition, which is also underlined by the fact that ending forced
labour is a central part of the Sustainable Development Goals. While end-
ing forced labour is a matter of great significance it is also a complex
challenge.
Forced labour may occur deep down a company’s value chain
and might happen in third countries not subject to the same regulation as
companies in the EU. Moreover, it is difficult to assess whether a product
itself has been produced, extracted, or harvested with forced labour, as
the product itself does not carry signs indicating the use of forced labour.
This means that the regulation should be clear for businesses and be fol-
lowed by guidance and tools for companies to support the implementa-
tion of the ban.
While welcoming the initiative the Danish Government would also like to
note the following considerations:
assess and address market surveillance challenges;
ensure consistency with other EU-legislation and the rules of the
World Trade Organization;
have a due legislative process that will allow for a solid legal foun-
dation.
Market surveillance challenges
It is expected that control of products that are produced, extracted, or har-
vested under certain conditions will fall under the jurisdiction of market
surveillance authorities. However, there are several unanswered questions
regarding such product controls. In terms of the wording used in the call
for evidence, it is expected that the control implies an extensive market
surveillance
of selected products’ value chains. This would be a control
competence currently not present in the Danish market surveillance sys-
tem. Hence, it will be important to assess the market surveillance chal-
lenges this initiative will pose, to be able to address possible inconsisten-
cies and choose the most effective and efficient approach.
ERU, Alm.del - 2021-22 - Bilag 339: Orientering om dansk høringssvar vedrørende effektivt forbud mod produkter, der fremstilles, udvindes eller høstes ved tvangsarbejde, fra erhvervsministeren
Consistency with other EU-legislation and the rules of the World
Trade Organization
To ensure an effective and efficient ban, while avoiding double regula-
tion, the Commission should work to ensure consistency with existing
and upcoming EU-legislation such as the proposal on a Corporate Sus-
tainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). We understand that the in-
itiatives are aimed at supplementing each other, while they do to a large
extend have the same objective. We would recommend the Commission
to perform a thorough gap analysis, to ensure that this additional initiative
adds value and only addresses the problems not already addressed by for
example the CSDDD or the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive.
Moreover, the initiative should be developed in accordance with the rules
of the World Trade Organization.
Due legislative process
Due to the importance and complex nature of the initiative, the Danish
Government finds that the initiative should adhere to the better regulation
principles, and hence an impact assessment should be provided.
The Danish Government acknowledges the sensitivity of the proposal and
supports the Commission’s assessment of the need to act on
the matter.
However, we find it difficult to support the Commission’s current choice
to exempt itself from providing an impact assessment as well as from
publishing a public consultation, and instead opting for only a
targeted
consultation. As the proposal aims at solving structural problems in com-
panies complex value chains and will have significant long-term implica-
tions, the initiative calls for a solid legislative process to ensure that we
do in fact achieve the laudable objectives of the initiative.
We stand at your disposal for further elaboration.
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