ASCII proposes a revision of the EU directive on supply chain due diligence, the EU Corporate Sustainable Due Diligence Directive.
The directive is based on European values and is to be welcomed. ASCII suggests that the Directive should focus, where possible,
on direct monitoring of suppliers rather than on bilateral relationships between buyers and sellers. The directive should
be amended to allow the use of negative and positive lists of countries and suppliers. Such lists contain foreign suppliers
that are prohibited (negative lists) or authorised (positive lists) to participate in EU supply chains. When contracting with
companies on positive lists, EU importers do not have to carry out due diligence on the companies. They are prohibited from
doing business with companies on negative lists. The Directive will continue to apply to non-listed companies. This reduces
the overall cost of the regulation for EU importers, reduces the likelihood of unwanted side-effects and makes the instrument
more effective, as non-compliance by a foreign supplier leads to delisting throughout the EU, not just with a single buyer.
It would also increase effectiveness by reducing legal uncertainty and extending the scope of the regulation beyond EU-based
production networks.
Keywords:EU Corporate Sustainable Due Diligence Directive, Supply Chains, Trade, social standards, environmental standards
Forschungsbereich:Industrie-, Innovations- und internationale Ökonomie