C&M is delighted to announce that TIEG Consortium won a new contract focusing on creating awareness among relevant stakeholders and businesses in Ethiopia on the planned EU legislation on global sustainable value chain due diligence. This is to ensure their preparation for legal requirements, and their support to the supply chain management in the view of changes introduced by the legislation.

In 2021, the EU became Ethiopia’s second-largest trading partner, with imports totalling €616 million and exports at €1.261 billion. Green Deal policies like the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive and Deforestation-free Products Regulation will impact trade relations. Ethiopia benefits from duty-free access through the “Everything but Arms” arrangement and received €926 million in EU FDI in 2020. The Homegrown Economic reform agenda targets sector-specific reforms, and a Ten-Year Development Plan aims for 10.2% annual growth. Despite opportunities in global value chains, concerns about human rights and the environment persist. New EU policies promote due diligence, but challenges remain in sectors like forced labour.

The specific objectives of this assignment are:

  • to assess the impact of the EU legislation on global value chain sustainability in Ethiopia;
  • to identify stakeholders who will be impacted by the legislation in Ethiopia (directly and indirectly);
  • to identify the challenges and opportunities Ethiopian public and private sectors are likely to face with the new legislation and to identify the mitigation measures including competition, pricing, social protection, risks, worker rights, traceability, timing and market access;
  • to identify the role of the EU and EU Member States (MS) in the mitigation measures for relevant stakeholders in Ethiopia related to the new EU legislation;
  • to prepare tailor-made materials relevant for Ethiopian context for dissemination for the relevant stakeholders;
  • to prepare guidance and conduct training for the relevant stakeholders on the concept of due diligence, basic notions of human and environmental rights and the mitigation measures that should be taken prior to the EU legislation coming into force.

This contract with an indicative start in September 2023 will present the current state of policy mapping, regulatory legislation, identify impacted stakeholders, prepare the inventory of possible challenges and gaps with recommendations, propose mitigation and support measures.