The upcoming legislation could have a major impact on the solar industry in the EU region as the EU faces increasing pressure to enact similar measures following the June 21 implementation of the Uyghur Forced Prevention Act (UFLPA) in the US.
The European Commission (EC) is currently working on new legislation to ban products allegedly made by forced labor, with a proposal expected in September. The legislation announced in February is still in the draft stage. On July 18, Reuters reported that U.S. officials have been in talks with the European Union about the design of the legislation.
Reuters reported that Thea Lee, the U.S. undersecretary for international affairs at the U.S. Department of Labor, “engaged with counterparts, including the European Union and Canada, on how to implement their respective restrictions on forced labor goods.”
Reuters quoted Lee as saying, "This bill is advancing in the EU. In fact, this issue is also advancing globally. My message to companies has always been: You need to start taking this seriously, and this is why."
"I think at the moment these companies are knowingly not knowing. They don't need to know, so they don't." This is clearly an attack on European importers.
An EU spokesman told PV Tech Premium that the EU needs to "address the issue of goods made from forced labour, whether they are manufactured in the EU or elsewhere."
Just before UFLPA was implemented, UFLPA raised the standard of evidence required by importers, and the European Parliament passed a resolution in June that referred to the so-called behavior of China's Xinjiang region and called on its executive arm, the European Commission, to formulate more stringent regulations on China. Severe trade sanctions.
"The European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made it clear in his State of the Union address that the EU proposes to ban products produced by forced labour on the EU market, regardless of where they are produced," the EU spokesman told PV Tech Premium.
"The 18 February 2021 Trade Policy Review Circular also highlighted that forced labour should not find a place in EU companies' value chains."
The EU has been reluctant to enact EU-wide legislation on imports suspected of forced labour, but this could change given the mounting pressure from the US
In the past, the EU has focused more on putting the onus on importers to make sure their supply chains are clean, rather than enacting legislation like the US.
That was a major claim made by the US presidential climate envoy John Kerry during the COP26 conference in Glasgow, Scotland last November, but it was not the first time the US has tried to get the EU to act differently.
Lee supports the EU's mandatory due diligence standards for companies, and she applauds the broader measures Canada and Mexico may take. These measures indicate that progress has been made towards a "Common North American Standard."
Responding to the assertion that the European company was "deliberately unaware", a spokesperson for SolarPower Europe told PV Tech Premium, "Our members have worked very hard to develop a transparent supply chain and increase confidence that European solar materials are free from forced labor. , paid a considerable price."
The trade body said it "is developing a supply chain monitoring programme to ensure that solar PV modules entering Europe comply with international sustainability requirements and labour standards, regardless of the country or region they come from."
The initiative, aimed at improving "end-to-end transparency and sustainability" across the solar supply chain, is backed by 30 leading buyers and suppliers of solar PV equipment, and is expected to be announced publicly for the first time in the third quarter, SPE said. Start the pilot. At that time, SPE will give a more detailed introduction.