EU deforestation law triggers ire of its trading partners

By Mercedes Ruehl, Alice Hancock & Emiko Terazono
The Financial Times
February 5, 2023
Category: Forestry
Region: International

The world’s two largest palm oil producers, Indonesia and Malaysia, are leading international criticism of a planned EU deforestation law they say is protectionist and discriminatory. The legislation, set to be approved by the European parliament at a plenary vote in late March, is the first in the world to ban imports of products linked to deforestation, including cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, soya, wood and rubber. …The two countries have already railed against the EU phasing out palm oil as a renewable biofuel, a move Malaysia deemed “crop apartheid”. Proposed in 2021, the law requires companies to provide a certificate to prove their goods have not been produced on land that was deforested after the end of 2020. …Brazil, Argentina, Ghana, Nigeria and Canada also regard Brussels’ move as a protectionist measure. …The regulation will only come into force 18 months after it is formally ratified, so campaigners expect implementation in late 2024.

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