German companies have criticized Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition for approving a law that will force employers to take action against foreign suppliers who breach human rights violations, potentially hitting supply chains.
The ruling coalition agreed to back the legislation at a cabinet meeting this week, setting the groundwork for a set of rules under which large companies face fines of up to two percent of their annual global turnover if they do business with human rights abusers. The legislation would give the government the power to temporarily exempt public tender companies from the fines of €175,000 or more that they would face in the new bill.
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