An Appeal for Targeted Regulatory Protection of Human Rights in the European Union’s External Trade Relations in Light of Front Polisario

Abstract

Shrimp, cotton, cocoa. The US Department of Labor’s list of goods believed to be produced by child or forced labour is long. It also acts as a chilling reminder that everyday products on the European market may have been produced under conditions representing severe human rights violations. In the United States, section 307 of the Tariff Act 1930 acts as a tool for customs to block the importation of certain goods produced under proved child or forced labour conditions. No equivalent exists in the European Union (EU). Yet, in light of the currently-pending appeal case of Front Polisario, the General Court and Advocate General Wathelet could have opened the door to requiring the Council of the EU to assess and ensure that the production of goods for export which enter the Union under a preferential trade arrangement comply with certain fundamental human rights. This note discusses the viability of that obligation and proposes making fundamental human rights indirectly enforceable abroad through a European equivalent of section 307.