On July 22, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit dismissed an action brought by eight Malian citizens against seven U.S. cocoa importers (Cargill, Nestlé, Mondelēz, Hershey, Olam, Barry Callebaut, and Mars) for forming and operating a cocoa supply chain to provide themselves with cheap cocoa harvested by child labor. The action was filed under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA). 18 U.S.C. §§ 1589, 1595, 1596.
The three-judge panel affirmed the district court's dismissal, holding that the Malian citizens who attempted to certify as a class failed to clearly allege facts showing the "causal connection between" the importers' "alleged supply chain venture" and the laborers' forced child labor. Issouf Coubaly v. Cargill et al., No. 22-7104 (D.C. Cir., 2025).
The Court distinguished the facts pleaded in this case from those in Doe 1 v. Apple, No. 19-cv-03737 (D.D.C. Nov. 2, 2021), in which plaintiffs plausibly alleged that the defendants sourced cobalt from the very suppliers who benefitted from the plaintiffs' forced labor, identifying a direct line from all the defendants and the mines in which they worked, through their suppliers, to all the plaintiffs. See 96 F.4th at 411. The failure to identify the farms where plaintiffs worked and the owners of the farms or intermediaries did not suffice to meet the standard delineated in Apple for standing.
The D.C. Circuit, while dismissing this particular action, reiterated the clear requirements for standing under the TVPRA: plaintiffs must demonstrate the causal link between the forced labor operations in which they work (undisputed injury), the suppliers to whom they sell, and the ultimate buyers and producers of the finished product (unlawful conduct).< em>See Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560 (1992).
With the D.C. Circuit's framework as the backdrop, a surge in litigation concerning the use of forced labor in supply chains represents a trend: supply chain mapping and tracing are increasingly feasible, and corporations are advised to perform thorough due diligence to ensure that forced labor is not present in their supply chains. Ignorance thereof will not be a defense. And while some supply chain mapping exercises may uncover negative results, preemptive compliance efforts trump compromising litigation.
In parallel, the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) mandates that companies ensure cocoa products imported into or exported from the EU are deforestation-free and legally sourced. Traceability of raw materials is at the forefront of regulators' agendas.
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