Following the first year of reporting under Canadaâs Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act (the âSupply Chains Actâ), Public Safety Canada has presented its inaugural annual report to Parliament and published updated guidance on the reporting requirements. As we look ahead to the upcoming year, it is important for companies to assess their reporting obligations and maintain their current momentum in preparation for the next reporting period. On November 15, 2024, Public…
On July 25, 2024 the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) came into force. Generally, the directive imposes new due diligence obligations on large companies operating in the EU. The legislator requires them to identify, prevent, mitigate, and remediate human rights violations and environmental impacts throughout their entire âchain of actionsâ. The member states shall transpose the CSDDD into national law by July 26, 2026. As businesses are trying to navigate through this evolving regulatory…
On 13 March 2024, the European Council and European Parliament agreed the final text of the proposed EU Forced Labour Regulation (âRegulationâ). This follows negotiations between the EU Council and Parliament which took place on 22 January 2024 and the European Council and European Parliament reaching a provisional agreement on the Regulation on 5 March 2024. The European Commission had initially proposed the Regulation on 14 September 2022. For information on the key similarities and differences between the existing US…
The EU has held political talks on a law that will ban the sale on the EU market of products made with forced labour, as well as the export of such products from the EU. On 22 January 2024, the EU Council and Parliament held negotiations to agree the final text of the regulation, the proposal for which was published by the EU Commission in September 2022. The Committee on International Trade and the Committee on Internal…
On 14 December 2023, the European Council[1] and the European Parliament[2] announced that they have reached a provisional agreement on the new Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (“CSDDD”), which sets out obligations for companies to mitigate their negative impact on human rights and the environment, around issues such as child labor, slavery, labor exploitation, biodiversity loss, pollution and environmental degradation. This provisional agreement marks a significant milestone in the legislative process of introducing the CSDDD…
On December 20, 2023, Public Safety Canada launched its online filing portal and issued guidance with respect to the novel annual supply chain transparency reporting requirement pursuant to the Fighting against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act (the Act), which comes into force on January 1, 2024 (Guidance). The Guidance provides information on the format and filing process for the annual report, the substance of the annual report and the interpretation of the Act. The first reports are due…
On Monday 16 October, the Internal Market and International Trade committees of the European Parliament adopted their position on the European Commissionâs proposal for a Regulation introducing a ban on the placing and making available on the EU market, or export from the EU market, of products made using forced labour (published on 14 September 2022). The following amendments have been proposed: Plenary will have to confirm the draft report as the European Parliamentâs negotiating…
Soon, substantial penalties can be expected for non-compliance with the proposed Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (âCSDDDâ) which oblige companies to implement due diligence processes to address their adverse impact on slavery, child labor, labor exploitation, biodiversity loss, pollution, and environmental degradation. What is new? On 23 February 2022, the EU Commission proposed the CSDDD.[1] Later, on 30 November 2022 the EU Council adopted its negotiating position (âgeneral approachâ) on the CSDDD.[2] Recently, on 1…
In lieu of our annual conference in Bellevue, WA, we are excited to again provide a Virtual Global Trade Conference available to all our clients and friends worldwide! The conference will be comprised of 90 minutes sessions over the course of two days. Join us on July 12 and 13 for any or all of the sessions and learn from our panel of experts as they share their insights on cutting-edge trade trends, regulatory updates and challenges,…
This article provides an overview of the global rise in human and labour rights legislation linked to trade measures. In particular, it examines: The Rise of International Human and Labour Rights Legislation Linked to Trade Measures Over the past decade there has been an accelerating trend toward a global legal regulatory framework requiring entities to comply with international human and labour rights in their own enterprise and supply chains through, what is referred to…