Taiwan: Cabinet considers ban on import and export of goods made with forced labour
"Cabinet considering bill prohibiting forced labor" 15 April 2024
Taiwan is mulling an amendment prohibiting the importation of goods using forced labor, similar to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) passed by the US Congress in 2021 that imposed limits on goods produced using forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region.
A government official...said yesterday that...Taiwan does not have the legal basis to prohibit the importation of goods made using forced labor, so it must make an amendment to existing laws or enact a special law...
The official said the Cabinet has held several cross-ministerial meetings, and the preliminary resolution is for the Ministry of the Interior to amend the Human Trafficking Prevention Act (人口販運防制法) as the legal basis for prohibiting the importation of goods made using forced labor, while also prohibiting their exportation.
“Neither imports nor exports would be allowed, it would be two-way,” the official said...
However, the Ministry of the Interior would wait until after a research report is conducted before taking action, so it might take a while before a law is implemented, they said...