Giving in to pressure from India, the US, Indonesia and Brazil, the European Commission has said that it proposes to extend the implementation of the controversial European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), by one year.

“..the Commission proposes to give parties concerned additional time to prepare. If approved by the European Parliament and the Council, it would make the law applicable on 30 December, 2025, for large companies and 30 June, 2026, for micro- and small enterprises,” the EC said in a press release issued on Wednesday.

Since all implementation tools are technically ready, the extra 12 months can ensure proper and effective implementation, it said.

Provisions

The EUDR requires exporters of palm oil, cattle, soy, cocoa, coffee, rubber, and timber and a range of derived items to prove that the products did not originate from recently deforested land (post December 31 2020), forest degradation, or breaches local environmental and social laws. It is aimed at reducing the EU’s impact on global deforestation and forest degradation. 

Last week, at the WTO, the EU representative had said that the bloc would go ahead with the implementation of its controversial EU deforestation regulation (EUDR) from December 30 this year.

“The EU’s statement at the WTO had led to increased protests from countries such as India, Indonesia, the US and Brazil. They pushed for its postponement on the ground that the bloc was not even ready with the guidelines for economic operators and member countries, and it would be very difficult for exporters to take care of all the paperwork, including land records and traceability certification, in such a short time-frame,” a Geneva-based trade official said.

For India, the EUDR’s complex compliance requirements pose a serious challenge, pointed out Delhi-based research body Global Trade and Research Initiative. “Indian exports to the EU, valued at approximately $1.3 billion, are at risk of being adversely affected. Products such as coffee ($435.4 million), hide ($83.5 million), oil cake ($174.5 million), paper and paperboard ($250.2 million), and wood furniture ($334.6 million) are directly impacted by the regulation,” it said.

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