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The EU Forced Labour Regulation bans products made with forced labour from the EU market from 14 December 2027. It is addressed to companies selling in the EU, not to suppliers outside it that only sell to them. Your EU buyers will still need your supply chain information. I am Martin Krüger, a Dutch lawyer at MAAK Advocaten in Amsterdam, advising suppliers on what to provide.
Part of our overview of EU sustainability rules for products.
Does the EU Forced Labour Regulation apply to your company?
The ban (Article 3) addresses economic operators (Article 2, point 9): those who place products on the EU market, make them available there or export them. A supplier selling only to EU buyers, without doing so itself, is not one.
Your products are still affected. A product is “made with forced labour” if forced labour was used “in whole or in part at any stage” of its extraction, harvest, production or manufacture, anywhere in its supply chain (Article 2, point 7). Forced labour means forced or compulsory labour as defined in Article 2 of ILO Convention No 29, including forced child labour (Article 2, point 1); forced labour imposed by state authorities refers to ILO Convention No 105 (Article 2, point 2). According to the Commission’s guidelines, the size of that share, the origin and the sector make no difference (section 3.1).
Selling online yourself changes this. An offer targeted at end users in the EU counts as making the product available on the market (Article 4), and you become an economic operator. See selling products in the EU from outside the Union and EU product law for companies selling into the Netherlands.
The ban applies from 14 December 2027 (Article 39). According to the guidelines, it then also covers stock made or imported earlier that is still on shelves or in warehouses (section 3.1). The withdrawal of products that have already reached end users is not covered (Article 1(2)).
What I often see go wrong is that companies think this only becomes real in 2027. The supply chain behind what is sold in December 2027 is being bought now. And stock still in the warehouse at that point also falls under the ban, according to the Commission’s guidelines. The second mistake is looking only at the direct supplier. The ban also applies when forced labour sits in a raw material or component further up the chain.
Why are your EU buyers asking for clauses, questionnaires and audits?
Because an authority that looks into their products usually first asks them what they have done to identify and address forced labour risks in their supply chains (Article 17(1)). Their answer depends on information that only you, and your own suppliers, can give.
The Regulation creates no due diligence obligations beyond those already in Union or national law (Article 1(3)). Due diligence can prevent an investigation: none is opened if there is no substantiated concern, or if its reasons have been eliminated, for instance by due diligence that prevents and ends the risk of forced labour (Article 17(5)).
The guidelines list what an authority may ask for, including supplier codes of conduct, “contract clauses on prohibition of forced labour” and third-party audit reports (section 4.7.1). According to the guidelines, due diligence is not imposed by the Regulation, although it can help a company comply (section 6.3.1). For the separate EU directive on corporate due diligence, see our page on the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive. For importers of tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold, see the EU Conflict Minerals Regulation.
If your buyer cannot answer, the authority may decide on the basis of other facts available (Article 20(2)).
Who investigates, and can the authority contact you directly?
Where the suspected forced labour takes place outside the EU, the European Commission is the lead competent authority (Article 15(1)). It requests information from the economic operators and, where relevant, from other product suppliers (Article 17(1)).
According to the guidelines, the authority may at any stage of the investigative process ask, where relevant, “product suppliers established outside the EU” for information (section 4.7). The 30-working-day reply period is set for economic operators (Article 17(2)), so your buyer will need your input well within it.
How does an investigation run, and which time limits apply?
In stages: a preliminary phase, an investigation, a decision, possibly a review, and customs controls. Each stage has its own time limit; for your buyer, the 30 working days for the first answer matter most (Article 17(2)).
| Phase | What the authority does | Time limit | Article |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preliminary phase | Asks what was done about forced labour risks | Reply: 30 working days; conclusion: 30 working days after the reply | Art. 17(1)–(3) |
| Investigation | Informs the operators and requests information | Notice: 3 working days; information: 30 to 60 working days | Art. 18(1), (4) |
| Decision | Bans the product and orders withdrawal and disposal, or closes the case | Aims for 9 months from opening; compliance: at least 30 working days (perishables, animals, plants: 10) | Art. 20(1), (4); 22(1)(b) |
| Review | Decides on a request with new substantial information | 30 working days | Art. 21(1)–(2) |
| Customs | Suspends release or export of a product a decision may cover | Release after 4 working days (perishables, animals, plants: 2) unless the suspension is maintained | Art. 28; 29(1) |
The economic operator has the right to be heard at all stages (Article 16(2)). Release by customs is not proof of compliance (Article 29(2)).
What should you arrange now?
Map your supply chain, collect the documents an authority may ask your buyers for, and put forced labour terms into your own purchase contracts. The guidelines give examples of the information that may be requested (sections 4.7.1 to 4.7.3).
Four things, in this order. One: for your most important products, map the supply chain as far as you can get. Two: put in your purchase contracts that forced labour is prohibited, that you may request information, and that the supplier cooperates when an authority asks questions. Three: keep a record of what you do: declarations, audit reports, correspondence. Four: appoint one person to pick up a request from the authority. Then you have a file when the question comes. Do not try to audit the whole chain in one go. Start with the products and raw materials with the highest risk, then widen. The Regulation itself works on a risk basis, and a smaller company cannot do everything at once; begin where the risk and your influence are greatest.
Based on the examples in the guidelines:
- Describe the supply chain of the products you sell into the EU: manufacturers and suppliers at the main production steps, with the locations of their facilities (sections 4.7.3.2 and 4.7.3.3).
- Collect identification and traceability data: batch or serial numbers, bills of materials, chain-of-custody evidence and certificates of origin (section 4.7.3.1).
- Keep purchase orders, invoices, shipping documents and production records showing that input and output volumes match (sections 4.7.3.4 and 4.7.3.5).
- File your policy, supplier code of conduct, clauses with your own suppliers, audit reports and corrective action plans (section 4.7.1).
- Prepare information on working conditions at your sites, such as social audits and payroll records (section 4.7.2).
- Name one contact person for your EU buyers and, if needed, for the authority; the guidelines encourage economic operators to do the same (section 4.7).
Which contract terms with EU buyers are reasonable?
Terms you can meet: a forced labour ban, information and audit rights, cooperation within a reasonable period if an authority asks, and clear arrangements if a product is banned. The Regulation does not prescribe these clauses and creates no additional due diligence obligations (Article 1(3)).
Agreements you can also use later. A ban on forced labour in the chain, the right to request information and audits, a duty to cooperate within a reasonable period if an authority asks questions, and what happens if a product is banned: who takes back the stock, who bears the cost of disposal. Keep those agreements reasonable: a supplier who has to guarantee everything it cannot control will sign, but the buyer gains little from it.
From the supplier’s side, points to check when you review such terms:
- Warrant what you know and control. For deeper tiers, agree to pass the same terms on to your own suppliers and report what you find; the guidelines mention such cascading in supplier contracts (section 6.4.1.3).
- Keep the supply chain data you share confidential and limited to compliance use, and fix notice and scope for audits.
- Allocate the consequences of a ban, such as return of stock, disposal (Article 25) and replacement of an affected part (Article 20(4)(c)), by responsibility rather than through an unlimited indemnity.
- Agree a period to put things right before the buyer suspends or ends the contract.
These are suggestions for the negotiation, not requirements of the Regulation.
Has an EU buyer sent you new forced labour clauses, a questionnaire or an audit request? I can review the terms and what you are asked to provide: contact Martin Krüger, product law partner in the Netherlands.
What should you do when your EU buyer receives an information request?
Help your buyer answer completely and on time: in the preliminary phase, the economic operator has 30 working days from receipt to respond (Article 17(2)). Deliver what is asked for, and say early what you cannot supply.
For an EU buyer that receives such a request, the steps are these:
First, fix the deadline: in the preliminary phase there are 30 working days to answer. Then we read together exactly what is being asked, and we gather what already exists: contracts, declarations, audits, supply chain data. Whatever is missing, we request straight away from the suppliers. If that cannot be done within the deadline, we report it before the deadline expires. A complete and honest answer is the best chance that no investigation follows; whoever does not answer lets the authority decide on other facts. I do not limit the answer to what is literally asked. I also show what has been done on due diligence: the Regulation leaves room to provide other useful information, and that is exactly what can remove the substantiated concern.
According to the guidelines, providing information does not guarantee that the product will not be banned (section 4.7). If the Commission writes to you directly, agree with your buyer who sends which documents, so that nothing is missing or contradictory.
What can you do after a ban decision on your products?
Help your buyer comply, and help it get out. A decision bans the product and orders withdrawal and disposal, or replacement of the affected part (Article 20(4)); a review can be requested at any time with new substantial information (Article 21(1)).
The decision names the manufacturer, the product suppliers and, where appropriate, the production site (Article 22(1)(c)). A Member State decision is recognised and enforced in the other Member States for products with the same identification from the same supply chain (Article 20(8)). Member States set the penalties for not complying with a decision (Article 37(1)).
Then there are two tracks at the same time. The first is compliance: the decision sets time limits to withdraw products from the market and have them disposed of, and anyone who does not do that risks penalties. The second is getting out: your buyer can request a review at any time with new information, and once it shows that it has complied with the decision and has removed the forced labour from the chain, the authority must withdraw the decision for the future. Your buyer can also go to court. Which route works fastest depends on what can be demonstrated.
These rights belong to the economic operators affected (Article 21(1)), but your evidence carries the request: withdrawal requires proof that the decision was complied with and that forced labour has been eliminated from the supply chain (Article 21(3)). Against a decision of a Member State authority, national law may require an administrative review before going to court (Article 21(5) and (6)); for Commission decisions, the Court of Justice of the European Union has jurisdiction, according to the guidelines (section 4.9.3).
Example: a component maker outside the EU and its Dutch importer
A new supply agreement from an EU buyer is a negotiation, not a form: the Regulation prescribes no contract terms and creates no additional due diligence obligations (Article 1(3)).
Suppose a maker of furniture fittings outside the EU supplies a Dutch importer. The importer’s new agreement asks for a forced labour ban, audit rights, cooperation with authorities “immediately” and an unlimited indemnity for any ban. The maker can trace its metal parts, but not yet a coating bought through a trader. It accepts the ban and audit rights with confidentiality, offers cooperation within a reasonable period, proposes liability limited to what it controls and commits to report on the coating.
A hypothetical example, not one of our cases.
When do you need a Dutch lawyer?
When an EU buyer sends terms you cannot fully meet, when your buyer or the Commission asks for information against a deadline, and when a ban decision covers your products. The first reply period is 30 working days (Article 17(2)).
My name is Martin Krüger, and at MAAK Advocaten the question I hear first is: “Does this apply to us?” Suppliers outside the EU usually hear about the regulation through their EU customers: new contract clauses, questionnaires, audit requests. The ban applies from 14 December 2027 and is addressed to the companies that sell in the EU. But those customers need your information to answer an authority. My first question back: which of your inputs can you trace, and which can’t you yet?
We review the clauses, questionnaires and audit terms your EU buyers send, and draft or check the agreement when it is governed by Dutch law. When an authority asks questions, we help you deliver your part of a complete answer within the deadline. After a ban decision, we prepare the request for review with the evidence from your supply chain.
Frequently asked questions about the EU Forced Labour Regulation
Does the EU Forced Labour Regulation already apply?
Not the ban. The ban applies from 14 December 2027 (Article 39 of Regulation (EU) 2024/3015); some provisions, such as those on the guidelines and the notification of national penalty rules, have applied since 13 December 2024. According to the guidelines, the ban then also covers stock made or imported earlier that is still on shelves or in warehouses.
Is a supplier outside the EU bound by the forced labour regulation?
Not directly. The ban is addressed to economic operators that place or make products available on the EU market or export them (Article 2, point 9, and Article 3). A supplier outside the EU becomes one, for example, when its online offer targets end users in the EU (Article 4). Product suppliers may also be asked for information (Article 17(1)).
Does it matter that my products enter the EU through the Netherlands?
The forced labour ban is the same in every Member State. Where the suspected forced labour takes place outside the EU, the European Commission investigates (Article 15(1)). A ban decision by a Member State authority is recognised and enforced in the other Member States for products with the same identification from the same supply chain (Article 20(8)).
Can the European Commission inspect my factory?
Only in exceptional situations. Outside the EU, the Commission may carry out checks and inspections if the economic operators concerned consent and the government of the third country has been officially notified and raises no objection (Article 19(1) and (3) of Regulation (EU) 2024/3015).
When should a supplier outside the EU contact a Dutch lawyer?
When an EU buyer sends forced labour clauses, questionnaires or audit terms you cannot fully meet, when information is requested against a deadline (30 working days for the economic operator in the preliminary phase), and when a ban decision covers your products and a review or court case is being considered.
Primary sources
- Regulation (EU) 2024/3015 on prohibiting products made with forced labour on the Union market, Articles 1 to 4, 15 to 22, 25, 28, 29, 37 and 39.
- Commission guidelines C/2026/4637 of 3 September 2026 under Article 11 of Regulation (EU) 2024/3015, sections 3.1, 4.7, 4.9.3, 6.3.1 and 6.4.1.3 (not binding).
Last checked on 5 November 2026 · next relevant date: 14 December 2026 (national penalty rules notified) and 14 December 2027 (ban applies).
Has an EU buyer asked you for supply chain data, new clauses or an audit? Put your situation to me through my page as product law partner in the Netherlands. — Martin Krüger
