Who is affected by the EU Forced Labour Regulation?

The prohibition binds every economic operator that places a product on the Union market, makes it available there or exports it. There is no exemption for small and medium-sized enterprises, no carve-out by sector, and no threshold on value or volume.

EU importers and brand owners are first in line: the product is on the market under their name, and if the suspected forced labour is in a third country the lead authority will be the European Commission. Distributors and retailers are caught by 'making available', and a published decision on a product they sell binds them from the day it applies, whoever imported it. Online and distance sellers targeting EU consumers are included, and withdrawal orders extend to online interfaces. A manufacturer outside the EU is not the addressee of the prohibition, but its products are in scope the moment anyone places them — so its facilities, its suppliers and its records are what its EU customer's evidence file consists of. The Guidelines promise proportionality in enforcement and dedicated support for SMEs; the prohibition itself is the same for everyone.