Supply chain law: Minister Müller wants to be a role model for all of Europe

According to the will of Development Minister Gerd Müller (CSU), the German supply chain law should set a precedent across Europe.

"The European Union should now make a proposal on the basis of the German regulation for compliance with human rights in all European supply chains," said Müller of the Augsburger Allgemeine.

The preparatory work for this is already in full swing.

Müller called the German law a "milestone in the implementation of human rights in global supply chains". He emphasized: "Our prosperity must not be based on exploitation and child labor worldwide." The law will give millions of children and families in developing countries somewhat better life chances and future prospects. More than 70 million children around the world are currently being exploited in mines, textile factories or on coffee plantations.

"The message of the Supply Chain Act is: Everyone has the right to a dignified life," said Müller.

However, parts of the German economy see it differently, now, for example, criticism is coming from medium-sized companies: "The supply chain law is a completely superfluous new imposition for entrepreneurial medium-sized companies in difficult economic times," said Hans-Jürgen Völz, chief economist of the Federal Association of Medium-Sized Enterprises (BVMW ), the newspapers of the Funke media group.

In addition to fighting pandemics, the law also imposed new bureaucracy and costs on small and medium-sized enterprises.

"It is to be hoped that the European Parliament will soon pass its own European supply chain law with a sense of proportion and capture the German legislature," said Völz.

The Union and the SPD agreed on a law on Thursday that is to be passed in this legislative period. The Supply Chain Act is intended to oblige companies to comply with environmental and labor law conditions in all phases of their production and supply chain abroad. The law aims to curb child labor, exploitation and the destruction of nature in the global production of goods. The two major churches had welcomed the agreement on the law.