Baker McKenzie’s Canadian international trade and customs team is publishing a series of articles reviewing 2024 trade and customs compliance developments and looking ahead to 2025’s burgeoning issues. This article focuses on Canadian legislative and enforcement developments in combatting forced and child labour. Before we dive into Canada’s commitments to combatting forced and child labour, here is an overview of the current state of politics in Canada, which includes a discussion of the legislative powers…
On 12 December, the EU Forced Labour Regulation (“Regulation”) was published in the EU Official Journal. The publication is following the EU Council’s approval of the Regulation on 19 November 2024. The text of the Regulation was approved by qualified majority with 25 EU Member States voting in favour and 2 EU Member States abstaining from voting. The Regulation was signed by the President of the European Parliament and the President of the EU Council…
Following the first year of reporting under Canada’s Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act (the “Supply Chains Act”), 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 13 March 2024, the European Council and European Parliament agreed the final text of the proposed EU Forced Labour Regulation (“Regulation“). 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 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 Commission’s 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 Parliament’s negotiating…
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…
Join us for a webinar on Forced labor developments in Mexico, Canada and the United States on Thursday, March 23, 2023 from 10:00 am – 11:00 am Central Time. In this webinar, our panelists will discuss Mexico’s implementation of the new Forced Labor Regulation, Canada’s implementation of supply chain transparency legislation, US forced labor enforcement trends, customs forced labor best practices and supply chain due diligence recommendations. Click here to register.