Human rights groups have long been campaigning to increase the visibility of and action against the use of forced labour in the production of goods across a number of industries and regions, such asThai fisheries,cocoa farming in western Africa and Brazil,migrant farmworkers in Australia, and textiles across the world fromBenin to Bangladesh toBritain. In Australia, many human rights groups were buoyed by the introduction of theCustoms Amendment (Banning Goods Produced by Forced Labour) Bill 2021[1] into the federal House of Representatives by Centre Alliance MP Rebekha Sharkie in November 2021.This Bill would have introduced provisions into the Customs Act that would result in an import ban on any products produced wholly or in part with the use of forced labour. in light of evidence that forced labour was used in the supply chain to ensure that those products would not enter the Australian market. The Bill remains unpassed.

The United States has already introduced measures of this nature. TheUS measures allow the US government to identify particular products or products from a specific region or country where there's good evidence that forced labour is in use and empower US border authorities to detain shipments of those products unless the importer can prove the absence of forced labour in the product's supply chain. Somewhat controversially,the US has thus far only targeted goods produced in China's Xingjiang region. (see alsoHuman Rights Watch media release here). Notably theEU has also been considering similar import measures that would permit EU authorities to stop goods at the EU border if there is a reasonable suspicion that the goods were produced using forced labour.

The links included in the text of the question above provide you with some information about the nature of the import measures being considered in Australia and that have been introduced in the US and are being in the EU. In your discussion below, you may find it useful to refer to the US or EU regulations as a point of comparison with the proposed measures in Australia. Of course, you can follow up with your own further research to deepen your understanding of these measures and their compatibility with GATT disciplines and defences.

1. Analyse the compatibility of the proposed Australian import restriction measures with GATT key disciplines concentrating on the non-discrimination and market access provisions. In your response identify the main provisions you consider relevant and analyse each in turn.In addition to considering the arguments a complaining state would make under these provisions, also consider any counter-arguments Australia might make.
2. Analyse the compatibility of the proposed Australian measures with the regulatory exceptions in Article XX of the GATT. In your response, identify the main provisions that you consider relevant to any defence Australia might attempt to pursue and discuss each one in turn. In addition to considering the arguments Australia might make under these provisions, also consider any counter-arguments a complaining state might make.
3. Do you think Australia should go ahead and introduce measures of this type? In addition to considering any risks that the measures might pose under WTO rules, what further factors or implications might Australia take into account when deciding to go ahead or not? Do you think trade measures are a suitable means of addressing these types of challenges - why or why not?

[1] This link takes you to Rebekah Sharkie's statement on the Bill and includes a link to the text of the Bill.