The European Union is poised to delay its globally criticized deforestation regulations by one year after pressure mounted from U.S. lawmakers who said the rules would hurt the domestic forestry supply chain.
On Wednesday, the European Commission proposed a 12-month postponement of the ban on imported goods that contribute to deforestation. While the law went into effect in June 2023, companies were not expected to comply until December of this year.
Bipartisan members of Congress blasted the ban last month, saying many producers in the United States lacked clarity around the rules and did not have enough time to comply — threatening “billions of dollars of trade.”
The lawmakers warned that if the U.S. were unable to export certain products to the EU, the economy would suffer, including through manufacturing job losses and inflationary pressures on the EU.
The EU had said the ban was meant to reduce the number of products consumed in Europe that stemmed from deforestation, while reducing carbon emissions and addressing deforestation worldwide.
It is expected to affect goods such as coffee, soy, palm oil, cocoa, cattle, wood, and rubber — as well as the products made from these commodities, such as chocolate, makeup, soaps, leather, tires, and more.
The regulations stipulate that imports must not have come from recently cleared forest lands and must not have contributed to forest degradation. Otherwise, the importing countries could face hefty fines.
Under the European Commission’s new proposal, large companies would now have until Dec. 30, 2025, to comply with the rules. Smaller and “micro” companies would have until June 30, 2026.
The European Parliament and all 27 member countries of the EU must agree to the proposal for the delay to take effect.
The postponement is expected to be supported by the majority of EU member countries, as agriculture ministers from at least 20 nations supported an effort to scale back and suspend the rules earlier this year, according to Reuters.
In mid-September, top German officials also asked the European Commission to delay the compulsory deadline by six months.
The deforestation import ban has garnered criticism from leaders outside of the bloc around the globe, including the World Trade Organization, Brazil, and the U.S.
Just weeks ago, a bipartisan group of House members, led by Rep. Michelle Steel (R-CA), asked President Joe Biden to place further pressure on the EU, saying it put the U.S. forestry industry at risk.
“Without more time for implementation, billions of dollars of trade are at stake. Forest product exports from the U.S. to the EU are valued at over $3.5 billion USD,” lawmakers said in a letter to the White House, first obtained by the Washington Examiner. “Without legal certainty that U.S. producers can place products on the EU market according to EUDR compliance requirements, significant trade disruptions will result.”
Steel celebrated the newly proposed delay, saying the regulation itself still needs to be "reworked."
"Immediate implementation of this costly mandate would reduce American market access and crush jobs while failing to recognize the success of sustainable forest practices in the United States," the congresswoman said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. "I believe this regulation should be reworked, and a delay will allow more time for the EU to consider the rule’s negative effects on American businesses, workers, and consumers."
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The European Commission clarified Wednesday that the proposed delayed timeline has yet to be approved. However, the executive branch of the bloc admitted that many global partners had expressed concerns about producers being prepared ahead of the December deadline.
“The state of preparations amongst stakeholders in Europe is also uneven,” the commission said, according to Bloomberg.