Colombia prohibits importing goods produced with forced labor throughout the supply chain

The national Government has prohibited the entry into the national customs territory of goods that have been, totally or partially, extracted, produced, manufactured, or transformed through forced or compulsory labor. The decision is contained in Decree 1444 of 2026, signed by President Abelardo de la Espriella and published in Official Gazette number 53,641 on September 28, 2026. The regulation takes effect the day following its publication, and its enforcement is the responsibility of the Special Administrative Unit Directorate of National Taxes and Customs (DIAN).

The decree is issued in exercise of numeral 25 of article 189 of the Political Constitution and in accordance with the general rules of Laws 7 of 1991 and 1609 of 2013. Its immediate precedent is the recommendation of the Committee on Customs, Tariff, and Foreign Trade Affairs, which in Session number 403 on August 18, 2026, recommended prohibiting the entry of goods obtained through forced labor. The project was published for public comment on the website of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism between August 11 and 15, 2026, and was notified to the World Trade Organization, the General Secretariat of the Andean Community, and the trading partners with whom Colombia has notification agreements.

The text relies on the sanctioning, seizure, and forfeiture regime for goods under Law 2586 of 2026, which classified the importation of prohibited goods as a customs administrative offense and enabled seizures and forfeitures.

Scope of the prohibition

Article 1 establishes that the prohibition covers all stages of the supply chain, including:

• extraction,
• cultivation,
• harvesting,
• manufacturing,
• assembly,
• processing,
• finishing.

Goods produced in this manner will be classified as prohibited and will be subject to the controls, procedures, measures, and legal consequences provided for that category.

Article 2 defines forced or compulsory labor as all work or service exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which said person has not offered themselves voluntarily, in accordance with Convention number 29 of the International Labour Organization, approved by Law 23 of 1967. Compulsory military service, normal civic obligations, work resulting from a judicial conviction under the supervision of public authorities, cases of force majeure, and small communal works are excluded.

Distribution of competencies

• The DIAN is the competent authority to control compliance with the prohibition, with powers of inspection, investigation, seizure, forfeiture, and evaluation of evidence.
• The Ministry of Labor determines, at the request of the customs authority, whether the reported facts correspond to forced or compulsory labor.
• The Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism supports the formulation of commercial policy, the exchange of information, and the identification of risk factors.

The determination of the Ministry of Labor is binding for the DIAN, but it does not include the accreditation of the facts nor the decision regarding the infringement, seizure, or forfeiture. The proceedings must guarantee due process and the rights of defense and contradiction of the importers.

Risk lists, sanctions, and validity

The Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism, with technical support from the Ministry of Labor, shall prepare, administer, and update a registry of indicative risk lists regarding goods, sectors, producers, exporters, entities, or supply chains. The registry shall be updated at least once per quarter.

Among the planned sources of information are:

• information provided by national or foreign authorities;
• reports from international organizations and treaty monitoring mechanisms;
• judicial or administrative decisions on forced labor, human trafficking, or slavery;
• information systems and risk management of the customs authorities;
• complaints from individuals, workers’ organizations, business organizations, and civil society;
• information on origin, traceability, and due diligence provided by the operators.

The importation of prohibited goods may lead to the sanction provided for in numeral 15.2.1.5 of article 15 of Law 2586 of 2026, in addition to seizure and forfeiture, including direct forfeiture. The Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism will monitor and evaluate the measure within two years following its entry into force and, thereafter, on a biennial basis; the DIAN will send information on forfeitures and final sanctions semi-annually to the Technical Vice-Ministry of the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit.

The decree also bears the signatures of ministers Miguel Gómez Martínez (Finance and Public Credit), Mauricio Gómez Amín (Commerce, Industry, and Tourism), and Natalia Eugenia López Fuentes (Labor).

For importers, marketers, and foreign trade operators, the regulation turns supply chain traceability into an operational requirement: they must document origin, due diligence, audits, and corrective measures, and are subject to seizure, direct confiscation, and customs sanctions. The immediate entry into force, supported by the exception in paragraph 2 of article 2 of Law 1609 of 2013, eliminates the usual transition period of between 15 and 90 days.

Source: Official Gazette, No. 53.641 of September 28, 2026, section I, p. 10 (official reference: Decree 1444 of 2026).