欧盟推动“禁止强迫劳动产品”立法:规范冲突与现实挑战

The EU’s Pushing for Legislation Related to“Prohibition of Products Made with Forced Labour”:Normative Conflicts and Practical Challenges

欧盟推动“禁止强迫劳动产品”立法,将对国际经贸环境包括我国国际经贸活动产生深远影响。欧盟相关文件和立法提案,实质是“工商业与人权”规范的欧盟版,具有区域法治规范效果外溢化和人权规则工具化的双重意涵。在制定和实施上述法规时,欧盟应当信守国际法基本原则,尊重联合国相关倡议的宗旨和精神,履行WTO关于发达成员不实施贸易壁垒的义务。在实践层面,欧盟新法规将提高发展中国家进入欧盟市场和全球供应链的成本,恶化发展中国家的外贸和就业环境,最终损害发展中国家劳工利益。对此,可采取以下对策:加强与欧盟沟通,要求欧盟克制贸易保护主义倾向,避免将人权法规工具化;主动对标高标准国际经贸规则、促进深层次改革,持续扩大法治保障下的高水平开放;加强对企业的合规指导,引导企业增强国际竞争力;针对欧盟相关法规及其实施造成的潜在不利影响,做好务实管用的预案,以预防风险。

The European Union is pushing for legislation related to“prohibition of products made with forced labour”,which will have significant impact on the international economic and trade environment,including China’s economic and trade activities.The EU’s relevant documents and legislative proposals are in essence“business and human rights”norms with EU characteristics,which have dual implications-the spillover effect of regional rule of law process and the instrumentalization of human rights law.In formulating and implementing the above-mentioned legislation,the EU shall adhere to the fundamental principles of international law,respect the purpose and spirit of the relevant UN initiatives,and fulfill the obligations under the rules of WTO,such as commitments of developed contracting parties to refrain from imposing trade barriers.At a practical level,these new EU“laws”will increase costs for developing countries seeking access to both the EU market and global supply chains,exacerbating their trade and employment environments while ultimately harming labourers’interests in those countries.To address this issue effectively,China could take the following measures:strengthen communication with the EU,and urge the EU restraint from any inclination towards trade protectionism or instrumentalization of human rights legislation;pro-actively set high-standard international economic and trade rules as benchmark,promote deep-level reforms,and continue to expand high-level opening-up under the safeguard of the rule of law;provide professional compliance guidance for Chinese corporations to enhance their international competitiveness;formulate pragmatic contingency plans aimed at preventing potential adverse impacts resulting from the EU’s“laws”related to forced labour as well as their implementation.